


like a yoke around your neck

by FeralPen



Series: a thought, dear, however scary [3]
Category: Daredevil (TV), Iron Fist (TV), Luke Cage (TV), The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: Angst, Background Relationships, Canon-Typical Violence, Domestic Fluff, Domestic Violence, F/M, Friendship, Hopeful Ending, Humor, Luke Cage Season 2, POV Danny Rand, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 04:33:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15811455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeralPen/pseuds/FeralPen
Summary: Luke Cage fights for Harlem - struggling forward, always. Always forward. But if he glances to the side, his friends are there to help.Post-Defenders AU - part 3 of a series. Luke Cage Season 2-compliant, but with extra teamwork and support.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a bit different from the other installments in this series. The Jess/Matt is very much minor and in the background, but it's in the same universe as the previous works. The entire fic is told from Danny's POV, and we deal with the events of Luke Cage Season 2. Halfway a fix-it, more of a what-if. What if my Luke Cage, who brings beer and pizza to Defenders party nights and regularly patrols with the other Defenders and their tight team bond, took on Mariah and Bushmaster? Would it change things at all?
> 
> Timeline-wise, this is set between chapters 4 and 5 of the previous work, I'm Just an Animal. Please enjoy.

Danny didn’t think much of it when his phone rang late in the evening, and the caller ID said it was Claire. Claire’s a friend, a good friend, probably the best person he’d ever met. So he set his carton of pork fried rice down and answered it with his mouth still full.

“Whassup, Claire?”

The line was quiet. Too quiet. Danny swallowed and sat up straight.

“Claire?”

“Danny, I need your help.” Claire’s voice was all wrong. She sounded shell-shocked.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Who would hurt Claire? He stood up and looked for his shoes and track jacket. “Where are you?”

“I’m - I’m fine,” she said. Her calm sounded forced. “I need a favor, though.”

“What is it? How can I help?”

“I need plane tickets. As soon as you can get them. And my mom’s apartment. I need… I need it taken care of.”

“Claire, you’re scaring me,” he said as he held the phone to his ear with his shoulder and shoved his shoes on. “I’m coming over, okay? Your mom’s apartment? Yeah, I’m coming.”

“You don’t have to,” Claire said.

“Is it okay, though? If I come over?”

Her sigh made the phone speaker crackle. “I - Yeah. Come over. That’s - Yeah. I probably shouldn’t be alone right now anyway.”

“Okay. Give me a little while, okay? I’m coming.”

He hung up on her and grabbed his keys. He texted the Rand driving service for a car and waited impatiently by the street for it. If he’d been out patrolling, he probably would have been a little closer, but it couldn’t be helped. He’d get there as soon as he could.

The driver was nice, though. Got him there as fast as she could. Danny gave her a big tip and a smile and told her not to wait around. He took the steps up to her apartment two at a time.

Claire was pale when she opened the door.

“Danny,” she said quietly. She gestured him in. “Thank you for coming.”

“It’s no trouble, Claire,” he said. “You and Luke are my friends.” She flinched at Luke’s name. Danny had a sinking feeling. “Where is Luke, anyway?”

Claire shook her head and walked back to the living room to sit on the couch with her head in her hands. Danny slowly followed her. His eyes were drawn to a big hole in the drywall next to his head.

“Claire, what’s going on? Were you attacked?”

Claire finally let out a sob at that. Danny rushed over to sit next to her. He gingerly tugged on her shoulders, and she fell into his arms.

“It was Luke,” she choked out. “We were arguing, and -”

“Claire, are you okay?” He was out of his element. He wished desperately that Colleen were here. She might know what to say or do. He bit his lip and shook his head. Colleen wasn’t here right now, but he was. He’d have to do his best. “What can I do? What do you need?”

Claire sobbed harder at that. He winced. So much for helping.

“Claire?”

She shook her head and sat up. She was covered in tears. He looked around desperately for a tissue. There was none. He saw a roll of paper towels in the kitchen and ran for it. He brought it back to her, and she let out a watery laugh at the sight of it. 

“You’re such a good friend, Danny.” She ripped off a few towels and blew her nose. “You’re such a good friend - to Luke and to me. I don’t know what we did to deserve you.”

“It’s not about deserving,” he said awkwardly. “We’re a team, remember? Defenders of New York?”

Claire shook her head again and wiped at her face. “I don’t feel like a team right now.”

“Can you tell me what happened?”

“It’s Luke,” she said. “He’s been… going down a dark path lately.”

“He _has_ been kind of… distant… at the latest team-ups,” Danny allowed. “He wouldn’t talk about it, though.”

“His damn pride.” Her voice was bitter. “He’s just like Matt. Territorial. Matt’s been better, lately, about sharing Hell’s Kitchen with the rest of us. Luke? Not so much. He’s got this thing about Harlem.”

Danny nodded. “He is kind of… weird about it.”

Claire bit her lip and forced down some more tears. “I confronted him about it. He nearly beat a man to death, Danny. He’s been so dark and angry. I tried to reason with him, and he just… flew off the handle.”

“Your wall.”

She huffed out another humorless laugh. “I don’t know how hip to modern times you are, but domestic violence? Hitting objects instead of hitting you? It’s not any better. It’s all the same. Fear and intimidation. He wanted me to shut up. It worked.”

Danny clenched his fists. “This is all wrong.”

Claire just nodded sadly.

Danny’s mind was whirling. “Okay. Plane tickets. You said you needed plane tickets?”

She nodded. “I can pay for them, but -” Danny waved a dismissive hand at her. “Okay. I need to go to Havana. See my mother and my _abuelita_.”

He nodded and pulled out his phone. “Havana. Got it. Let’s see… tomorrow morning good enough for you?”

“You can get tickets that fast?”

“Rich white privilege,” he said dismissively. “What do you want to do with the apartment while you’re gone?”

“I was going to sublet it.”

“Okay. I can have a crew here tomorrow to pack it up and get it ready.”

“Danny, you don’t have to.”

“I want to, though. You’re my friend, and you have enough to worry about right now. Let me do this for you.”

She shook her head again, but she pulled him into a hug. “You’re a good guy, you know that?”

“I try to be.” He squeezed her back. “You guys are important to me. Let’s get you packed up now, okay?”

Claire nodded, and they set about packing up anything she would need for her stay.

Danny frowned as he left. He needed to talk to Luke. His thumb hovered over the “call” button. What could he say? What would he even ask Luke right now? He put his phone back in his pocket and kept walking. After a moment he pulled it back out again. 

The phone rang once, twice, three times. Finally it picked up. 

“Hey, Matt, sorry if I woke you up,” he said.

“I wasn’t asleep,” Matt answered through the phone. “What’s going on, Danny? I thought you were taking the night off.”

Danny bit his lip. How much should he say? “No, I was. I went over to Claire’s place.”

“Okay. So what has you calling me? You sound like you’re outside.”

“Well, it’s just…” He sighed and ran a hand over his head. “I don’t know what to do, Matt. Claire’s flying to Cuba tomorrow.”

There was a beat of silence. Matt’s voice was sharp. “She didn’t say anything to me or Jess about going to Cuba.”

“Yeah, she kinda decided to tonight. I got her tickets for in the morning.”

“Is she okay? Why is she leaving?”

He worried his lip between his teeth. “Um… I dunno, can I come over? It’s kind of sensitive, and I need some… advice. I don’t know what to do.”

Matt’s breath ghosted over the phone speaker. “Yeah, come over. I’ll leave the roof unlocked. Jess is here, though. Is that okay?”

“No, that’s fine. She needs to know, too.”

“Okay. See you soon, Danny. Be safe.”

“Right.”

He hung up and picked up his steps. Out of curiosity, he opened up his Harlem’s Hero app. There was a bunch of alerts and a video. He hit play and watched it as he walked.

His eyes nearly popped out of his skull. Luke was - that guy! Bushmaster? Luke had just gotten beaten up. On camera. Whatever reservations he had flew out the window. He stopped at a crosswalk and called Luke.

The phone rang and rang and rang. It went to voicemail.

“Um, hey, man. It’s Danny. I just saw the video of you and Bushmaster. Just wanted to know if you were okay. Call me back.”

He hesitated at the crosswalk. He didn’t know where Luke was now. Nobody had tagged him on the app. Would he head back to Claire’s? He shook his head. Luke was a grown man. He’d call back if he needed help. He picked up his pace and headed for Matt’s.

The run helped, especially when he got to the familiar blocks of Hell’s Kitchen and switched to running the rooftops. He’d run over these buildings many times - with Matt or Luke or Colleen or sometimes even Jessica. There was a rhythm to it, jumping from building to building. It cleared his head. By the time he bypassed the horrid billboard outside of Matt’s and landed on their familiar rooftop, he was calm.

The rooftop door was unlocked, as promised. Danny let himself in. Matt’s apartment was a familiar hangout for the Defenders. To Danny it felt almost as much of a home as Colleen’s dojo. 

“Hey Danny,” Matt said. He was awake despite the late hour. He was dressed in his casual clothes, though his fingers were paused in running over a file that looked like it came from his practice. Jessica saluted him from the kitchen table, where she had a bottle of bourbon and her laptop.

“Matt, Jessica,” Danny said. 

“Grab a beer, kid,” Jessica said. “You look like you need one.”

“You know what? I’ll take that beer.” Matt made a ‘help yourself’ gesture, so Danny popped open the fridge. He was happy to see there was more food in there than just beer and hot sauce this time. Matt was taking better care of himself. He grabbed the beer and let Jessica pop it open bare-handed.

“So what’s the deal with Claire?” she asked. Blunt as usual.

Danny fidgeted with the bottle before he joined Matt on the couch. The lawyer set his documents aside and focused his whole attention on him. 

“She called me a while ago. She was upset, said she needed plane tickets. I told her I’d be right there, so I went to her place.”

“Is she okay? Did someone attack her?” Matt asked.

“She’s fine. Physically, at least. She’s a little shaken.” He took a gulp of beer to fortify himself and winced at the bitterness. He still wasn’t used to the taste. “Uh, she and Luke had a fight.”

Matt nodded and made a ‘go on’ gesture. 

“Well, when they were fighting, I guess it got heated. He, uh, as far as I gathered, he lost his temper and, uh, punched a hole in the wall.”

He glanced at Matt and Jessica to gauge their reactions. Matt was stone-faced. Jessica, on the other hand, had storm clouds brewing in her expression.

“I, uh, Claire said that qualified as domestic violence.” He winced at his next question even as he asked it. “Is that, um, true?”

Matt answered before Jessica could. “The short answer is ‘yes,’ Danny. Domestic violence isn’t just physically harming someone. It’s a pattern of behaviors with intent to threaten or coerce your partner to gain control over them. Displays of violence like that definitely qualify as threatening behavior.”

“It’s a dick thing to do,” Jessica added with a snarl. “And she said Luke did that?”

Danny nodded reluctantly. “I saw the hole in the drywall myself. But, Matt, it’s Luke. I mean…”

“What, you don’t believe Claire?” Jessica asked. She simmered down when Matt cleared his throat pointedly.

“No, I believe her. I’m just… Luke’s my friend. He’s a Defender. He’s not a bad guy.”

Matt put a hand on his knee. “I understand, Danny. It’s a tough situation. Claire was very brave to stand up for herself like that, and I’m glad you’re helping her get out of town if that’s what she needs. And just because Luke did this doesn’t mean he’s a bad person.” Jessica made a noise of protest. “I’m not defending what he did, Jess, I’m just saying that he’s not evil because he made a mistake.”

“Yeah, a mistake until he puts a fist in her face instead of the wall,” she muttered.

Danny bit his lip some more. “But… if he’s sorry for what he did and promises not to do it again… they can get back together, can’t they?”

Matt frowned. “Well, Danny…”

“What?”

Matt looked uncomfortable. “I’m not saying that people can’t change, because they can. I’m just saying… if it wasn’t Luke and Claire, if it was, like, a client of mine, I would urge her to distance herself from him.”

“But it’s Luke!” Danny looked desperately between Matt and Jessica. They both looked grim. “How can you both give up on him?”

“We’re not giving up on him.” It was Jessica this time. “We’re just preparing for the worst. It sucks. Like a lot. And I don’t think Luke’s a bad guy. It’s just… sometimes good people do bad things.”

“Like a repeated pattern of bad behavior,” Matt said. “He may not mean to do it, but once he starts processing his anger like that… There’s not a very high success rate for rehabilitating domestic abusers, Danny. That doesn’t mean it can’t be done, but you just have to prepare yourself for maybe being with Luke not being the best thing for Claire. If you love them both, then you have to be willing to stand with them even if they’re better off apart.”

Danny chewed on that. “Maybe you’re right… I just… hate to think about Luke like that.”

“I know, Danny.” Matt gave him a small, sad smile. “Hey, it’s late. Do you just want to crash here for the rest of the night?”

He thought about it, but he shook his head. “No, I’ll go down to Colleen’s. No offense, Matt, but your couch isn’t the most comfortable. And it’s kind of… stained.”

Jessica snickered. Matt turned red and pinched his lips together. Danny thought about it for a second before he leapt off of the couch in disgust.

“Oh my God, guys, you didn’t!” Jessica’s snickers turned into full-blown cackles. “I meant _bloodstains_ not - Ugh!”

“I think it’s time for you to go, Danny,” Matt said with forced calm despite his flaming red face. “Don’t hesitate to call or drop by. And just… be there for Luke, okay? I think that’s the best thing we can do for him.”

Danny nodded. “Okay, guys. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Be safe out there, Danny,” Jessica said.

He nodded again and let himself out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The original plan was 3 parts. 3 PARTS. Why do my fics keep growing and growing? I'm trying to knock this one out pretty quickly, though, because the fourth in this series is exciting. Danny and Luke just have a lot of feelings, and then Matt pops up demanding he do daring heroics and pep talks. You got downvoted as team leader when you let a building drop on you to talk sense into your brainwashed ex, Matthew. Nobody trusts your common sense anymore.

Luke still wasn’t answering his phone.

Danny thought about it long and hard and tried Misty. She answered after a few rings.

“It’s not a good time right now,” she said before Danny could say anything.

“Misty,” Danny said desperately. “I’m just looking for Luke.”

“He’s with me,” she said. “Like I said, this isn’t a good time.”

“Well, just tell him that I want to talk to him. Whenever he gets the chance.”

“I’ll pass the message along,” she said. “But I can’t guarantee he’ll call you. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but things are getting weird up here in Harlem. I’d stay out of it if I were you.”

She hung up before he could reply. He scowled at his phone. “Well, you’re not me.”

He racked his brain for anything he knew about Luke and Harlem. Luke didn’t talk about it much. There had been a man named Cottonmouth, but he was dead. Another guy called Diamondback, but he was in prison. He’d said something bitterly about a Mariah and Shades. That was worth looking into. He wasn’t very good at this, though, so he went to someone who was.

Alias Investigations. The frosted glass door had a hairline crack through it. He wondered who’d pissed Jessica off this time.

“We’re open,” she called grouchily when he knocked on the door. Danny let himself in. Jessica was leaning back in her chair with her boots crossed on her desk. “Oh, it’s you.”

“Hey, Jessica,” Danny said. “I need to hire you.”

Jessica’s eyebrows shot up. She yanked her feet down and sat up straight. “You? Want to hire me?”

“Yes.” He dug through his wallet and pulled out some bills. “Here’s my down payment.”

She looked at him like he was crazy. “I haven’t accepted you as a client yet. What’s the deal?”

“I want anything you can dig up on Mariah Dillard.”

She made a confused gesture. “Who?”

“She’s someone in Harlem. One of Luke’s enemies. Misty said something bad’s going on in Harlem, and she might have something to do with it.” He shrugged helplessly. “It might be a long shot, but I can’t get ahold of Luke and I’m trying to help.”

Jessica pushed the money back across the desk to him. “I don’t know if I can accept this case, Danny. Luke might not appreciate you messing around in his territory like this. He’s really sensitive about Harlem.” She snorted at that. “Considering I met him when he owned a bar in Hell’s Kitchen, I think it’s a little rich, but I don’t ask too many questions.”

Danny groaned and sank down into one of her chairs. “I don’t know what to do.”

Jessica gave him a sympathetic look. “I know, kid. Look, let’s get Matt and Colleen, and maybe the four of us can get through to Luke. He’s a stubborn ass, and I’m pissed at him, but you’re right - he doesn’t need to take everything on himself.”

Danny perked up at that. “You think it could work?”

“Don’t get your hopes up, but yeah, it might work. Where does Luke stay?”

He shifted uncomfortably. “Well, he used to stay with Claire, but… He’s probably at the barbershop. He mentions it a lot.”

“Okay, so tonight. After business hours because Matt and Colleen actually have real jobs. We’ll head up there together.”

“Okay.” Danny beamed at her. “I’ll see you again tonight.”

Jessica gave him a lazy salute, and he skipped out of the room.

The next few hours crawled by. He kept himself occupied poking at some of his Rand duties that he more or less usually passed off onto Ward. He tried to keep a small hand in the running of the company, but he was starting to realize that the people who actually had master’s degrees in business were a little more qualified than him. His work as the Iron Fist kept him busy enough that he didn’t mind. Ward also seemed happy to mostly run the company for him. Danny just showed up to shake hands and go to parties and occasionally throw his shareholder weight behind some decision Ward wanted. It worked for them, and Rand was now making less shady deals and dangerous business practices. Win-win.

Colleen finally finished her last class. Danny leaped up from his sprawl on her bed with a hopeful look.

“I’m taking a shower,” she said before he could say anything. “No arguing.”

Danny wilted. Colleen pecked him on the cheek on her way to the bathroom.

“It can wait 15 minutes,” she said. “I’m not going to the big intervention all sweaty.”

Danny groaned and flopped back on the bed.

Eventually, they got into a Rand SUV and swung by Alias. Jessica and Matt were waiting outside. Matt was making a sulking face and gripping his cane with a white-knuckled fist.

“Matt’s grumpy,” Jessica said as they slid inside the vehicle. “Bad day at the office.”

“Ableist assholes,” he said. His tone was as bleak as his face.

Danny exchanged a look with Colleen. They decided not to ask.

“He’s also hungry, but he didn’t want me to mention it,” she said with one of her wicked grins.

“Jess,” Matt groaned.

Colleen shrugged at Danny. He sighed. Luke could wait a little longer. “Chinese?”

“You always pick Chinese,” Matt complained. Jessica punched his arm lightly, but there was a smile playing around her lips.

“Curry?” Colleen asked hopefully. Both Matt and Jessica perked up at that.

Danny turned to their driver. “You know any good Indian food around here?”

The driver grinned. It was an older man named Phil this time. “Boy do I ever. Buckle up.”

“We’ll bring Luke a plate,” Danny justified. 

The sun was slinking down beneath the skyline by the time they finished their dinner and got a big to-go plate for Luke. Danny hoped he liked Indian. The other three had settled into a peaceful, full quietness. Danny couldn’t help but feel nervous, himself. He hadn’t seen Luke in almost two weeks at this point. Who knew how he was.

They found the barbershop easily. Danny asked Phil the driver to wait for them, and the quartet took a moment to scan the outside of the old-school shop. Matt made a strange noise. When Danny glanced at him, his eyebrows were raised up above the rims of his glasses.

A man left the shop and froze like a deer in headlights at their combined stare. Danny moved out of the way so he could pass, so the man just coughed awkwardly and scuttled by. As one, the Defenders made for the door.

Luke groaned when he saw them come inside. He looked more tired than Danny had ever seen him.

“You guys, too, huh? Can today just slow down with the hits?” Luke shoved some papers back into an envelope and threw the whole thing onto a nearby chair. “What is it? Please tell me there’s no world-ending crisis happening, because I really don’t have time for it.”

“What was that?” Matt nodded his head towards the envelope.

Luke groaned again and rubbed his head. “I’m being sued.”

“Do you need help?” Danny sometimes forgot that Matt was a lawyer before he was Daredevil. It was interesting to watch the total body language shift of Matt in legal-mode versus relaxed or his nightly tight-coiled ball of incredible violence. Almost like different people. “I can represent you if you need it.”

“I’ll call Foggy in the morning,” Luke said shortly. “If you’re done dodging the question, why are you guys invading the shop? End of the world, or…” He paused, and his face fell. “Or did y’all talk to Claire?”

“We’re just here to check on you,” Colleen said diplomatically. “I went out with Misty recently. She said there’s new players in Harlem.” Danny shot her a surprised look. She hadn’t mentioned anything to him about it. “She said you’re being stretched pretty thin. We’re worried about you, Luke.”

“Well, save it. This is my problem.” Luke crossed his arms and jutted his chin out. 

“It doesn’t have to be,” she returned, just as stubborn.

“Luke,” Matt said quietly. “We’re not here to question your competence. We’re here to help.”

“I don’t need help. I can handle this.”

Jessica scoffed. “Really? You’re going to keep up the macho bullshit?”

Danny winced at the withering glare Luke leveled at her. Jessica just raised an eyebrow. 

“You all need to butt out,” Luke growled. “Harlem is my problem. And the problems Harlem is having? I can handle them.”

“Like you handled Bushmaster?” Matt put a hand on her wrist, but she shrugged it off. “No, really. What’s the point of joining a team of superpowered freaks if you won’t even let us help? We’re not going to run out on you - even though maybe we should, after what you did.”

Danny stepped in before Luke and Jessica could come to blows. He kept his hands up and looked directly into Luke’s stricken eyes. “Luke, hey, we’re here as friends. I talked to Claire just last night. She’s worried about you.”

Luke wilted at that. He turned away from them and sat on a barber chair. His elbows rested on his knees. He held his head in his hands. Danny ached looking at him.

“Luke, man,” he said. He stepped forward, keeping his posture relaxed. “Look, dude, where are you sleeping tonight?”

“Here.” Luke didn’t look up. 

He frowned and sighed. “Look, even if you don’t want our help with Harlem, come home with me tonight. Get one good night’s sleep on a real bed. You still seem pretty shaken up from what happened with Bushmaster. Just come over and get some rest.” He suddenly remembered the takeout bag he’d left in Matt’s hands. “I brought curry.”

Luke looked up at that. His face was still etched with lines of exhaustion and stress, but he cracked a smile at that. “Curry, huh? It’s always food with you.”

“Fighting crime with my best friends works up an appetite.” Danny matched him smile for smile.

Luke sighed and stood up. He looked around the shop absently before he tried to casually pass his eyes over the group. They all tried to look encouraging. He shook his head, but gently.

“You just don’t give up, do you? Fine. One night. But y’all stay out of Harlem. At least until Misty and I figure out what’s going on with the Jamaicans and Mariah.” He shook his head again. “This Bushmaster cat is dangerous.”

Colleen looked the most bothered by that. “If he can take you down…”

“Then we’ll have to work together,” Matt said firmly. “Bushmaster might have gotten the jump on you, but he hasn’t taken on the Defenders yet.”

Luke shook his head again, but he didn’t say no. Danny counted that a win.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 was boring, so I combined 3 and 4 into this. Subtitled: Danny tries to bromance everyone.
> 
> Featuring Very Tired Luke, Harlem is My Responsibility Luke, Painfully Earnest Danny, Little Shit Danny, Terrible Liar Matt, and Worrisomely Violent Matt.

Danny was up with the sun. An old habit from K’un-Lun that he’d never gotten rid of, even with his time in the city. He rose with the sun and napped during the day and lit up the night with his Fist. It worked for him.

He moved through his forms as the kettle heated for his tea. The bright morning light slanting through his windows gave his apartment a cheery glow. This morning hour always brought him some much-needed peace and stability. His energies were more balanced now than they’d been in all his time at the monastery. New York - hectic, dangerous New York - brought him peace.

Luke came stumbling out of the second bedroom just as the kettle started whistling. Danny beamed at him and held up a mug. “Tea?”

Luke blinked sleepily at him and nodded. Danny just smiled more and poured out a second mug. He leaned against the counter as the mugs steeped. He watched Luke find a couch to flop on with the same serene smile. 

“Are you hungry? I can scramble eggs. Or I have Pop Tarts.”

Luke shook his head wordlessly. Danny ditched the tea bags. He tucked the sugar bowl and a spoon between his elbow and body and carried the tea over to the living room. Luke sat up straighter and took his mug and the sugar bowl with a quiet thanks.

Danny crossed his legs on the floor and sipped the steaming tea carefully. The silence blanketed the room. It was a comfortable silence.

“You wake up like this every morning?”

He turned his head to glance at Luke. “Whenever I’m here, yeah. It’s pretty similar when I stay at Colleen’s. We practice our forms together.”

“It’s nice.” Luke stared at the far wall and sipped his tea. “I can see how you’re all… zen all the time.”

“It helps.” Danny approached the next topic carefully. “You don’t get a lot of peace and quiet out in Harlem, do you?”

He laughed at that. His eyes were tired. “No, nothing like this. I can’t go out on the street without someone asking for an autograph or taking pictures or tagging me in that stupid app.”

“Hey, I have that app.”

He rolled his eyes at him. “I can’t lie, man, I kind of envy you guys. You can just take a walk and nobody recognizes you.”

“Well,” Danny said slowly. “It depends on where I am. If I’m near the Rand building everyone recognizes me. And I think Colleen’s neighbors think I’m a hobo.”

He succeeded in making him laugh again. “You dress like one. But for real, you guys get to do the hero stuff and then just… put it down. The longer I do this, the more I think Matt was the only one with the right idea. He can walk down the street and he’s just Matt Murdock, blind lawyer and resident pain in the ass. No one expects anything from him.”

Danny chewed on his thoughts for a minute. “Would you give it up, though? Move away, stop being a hero?”

“I’m not much of a hero.” Luke sighed and scrubbed a hand over his bald head. “I can’t stop. Harlem needs me. Without me, the police can’t keep up. There’s nobody else out there who can take a stand against the corruption and the dangers there. At least if I’m there… There’s at least one man who can take the hit. Do what needs to be done.”

“But at what cost?” Danny shook his head. “Hear me out, Luke. I get it. I trained my entire life, basically, to become the Iron Fist. Everyone looked up to me to protect K’un-Lun. And I failed. I let everyone down. When you met me, I was not in a good place.”

He felt a smile growing on his face. “The team, though? The Defenders? You guys give me purpose. You help share the burden. I’m not alone anymore. I know that anything comes my way, I have Colleen by my side. I’ve got Jessica throwing cars around and Matt kicking heads in. Misty to back us up in the force. And - And I’ve got you, Luke. We count on you, man. To be the guy who can take a hit. We just want… We want you to count on us, too.”

Luke sighed at that. Long and slow. His mug clinked on the coffee table with a note of finality as he set it down and stood up.

“I get what you’re saying, Danny. I do. I just… have to try to do this myself. It’s not just pride. It’s responsibility. All the power shifting around in Harlem - I’m at the center of it. I have to see it through.”

“But you’ll call us?” Danny’s voice was quiet. He had to crane his neck to look up at Luke from the floor. “If it gets to be too much. You’ll call us, right?”

Luke’s face softened briefly. “If it comes to that, yes. I’ll call you. But you have to let me do this.”

“Okay.” He stood up, then. “If you need a place to crash…”

“I can’t take your charity, Danny.”

“And I have to offer. It’s not charity.” He crossed his arms and stuck his chin out in mirror of Luke’s stubborn pose. “It’s a favor for a friend. If you need to rest, my door is always open. Hell, if you need a hotel room, I can get you one. Take care of yourself.”

“Okay, Danny.” Luke shook his head and clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re a good kid, you know that?”

His insecurities rose their ugly heads. He shook his head and tried to force down the prickle of guilt in his gut. “I’m just trying to be a good friend and teammate.” 

He was achingly aware of the Claire-shaped elephant in the room. He wanted to ask, but Luke was looking happier and more relaxed than he’d looked in weeks. How could he break that apart? What would he even say that wouldn’t sound like condemnation or childish hope?

“I need to get going, man,” Luke said. “Take care of yourself.”

“Yeah, you too,” Danny said weakly.

It nearly physically hurt to watch Luke walk out the door. He wanted to scream. Every instinct said letting Luke handle this himself was bound for tragedy. He just hoped he was wrong.

The next couple of days passed without any word from Luke. He kept his phone handy just in case, but other than a clipped text message saying he was dealing with his lawsuit, he didn’t hear anything. Danny tried not to worry, but he couldn’t help it. He dealt with his feelings by breaking up petty robberies and punching bad guys in the evening, and bothering Colleen during the day.

Matt called him before Luke did.

“Danny, are you free tonight?”

Danny blinked in surprise and pulled the phone away from his ear to glance at it. He put it back again.

“Uh, hey, Matt.” He set his instant noodles down on the coffee table. “I can be. Did something happen?”

Matt hesitated. “Well, I’m not technically supposed to know that anything’s happening because of attorney-client privilege. So, no, officially I do not know that anything is happening tonight, or that Luke is going to be somewhere where he will be tempted to do something rash and stupid. Foggy absolutely did not tip me off. There is definitely not anything going on in Harlem tonight.”

“Right,” Danny said slowly. “So, sundown, you want to meet by Washington Bridge?”

“Great idea, Danny. We will patrol Harlem tonight completely coincidentally.”

“Your cover story is… pretty thin.”

“Who’s the lawyer here?”

He laughed at that. “You know best, I guess.”

“Jessica’s checking something else out this evening, too. She wanted to take Colleen.”

“Sounds good.” He felt a grin stretch out his face. “Defenders take Harlem, huh?”

“Coincidentally,” Matt said again. “I’ll see you this evening. Bye.”

“Bye.” The line went dead. Danny went back to his noodles with a flutter of excitement in his belly. It finally felt like they were getting somewhere.

Sundown didn't come fast enough. Danny was waiting on the bridge well before last light. He settled down to wait. Matt didn't like being seen during the day in his suit. He guessed it ruined the aesthetic he had going. He was stuck waiting until the sun truly went down before he saw Matt casually jogging down the bridge towards him.

“What, no dramatic rappelling entrance?” he asked.

The visible part of Matt’s face grimaced at him. “There’s not many rappelling opportunities in the middle of a bridge, Danny.”

“Yeah, but your Batman aesthetic…”

“I haven’t read a Batman comic since I was nine years old,” Matt said flatly. “My only aesthetic is scaring the shit out of criminals.”

“That’s exactly what Batman would say! I’m just saying, Batman would find a way to rappel onto the bridge.” He ignored Matt’s groan and sobered up. “So what’s going on tonight?”

Matt perked up at the mention of Serious Business. “Two things. One, Mariah Dillard is opening a new family clinic in Harlem tonight. Jessica wanted to snoop in on it, and she took Colleen in case Bushmaster or any of his henchmen show up. It might be a dead end, but she’s been doing some snooping since you tried to hire her.”

“She told you about that?”

Matt bared his teeth in a loose approximation of a smile. “Jessica tells me lots of things.” His grin faded. “Foggy tipped me off that he and Luke would be at a party tonight.”

Danny frowned. “He and Luke go to parties?”

The opaque red plastic Daredevil eyes turned on him judgmentally. “No, they’re there to earn money.”

“Why do they need money? I have money.”

Matt sighed in exasperation and shuffled his feet. “It’s a lot of money, Danny. You don’t just - Look, I know you’re not attached to your money, and you like to give it away, but for people who don’t have money - like me and Luke and Jess - money’s a loaded subject. It’s not something that we’re really casual about.”

“But if I have it, and I want to give it away, why not take it?” Danny was honestly confused. “Is it a pride thing?”

Matt chuckled and started jogging again. Danny tripped over his feet to follow. “You say pride like it’s a foreign concept. You can’t tell me you’ve never refused to ask for help when you really needed it because you were too ashamed to ask.”

“Well…” He had a point. He chewed on that as they approached Harlem proper. He stopped to tug his yellow bandana around his face before one of the locals decided to snap a picture of Daredevil and Iron Fist running around. “Still. I wish you guys would let me help more. I inherited more money than I could ever spend on just myself.”

“Maybe someday,” Matt said distantly. His head swiveled back and forth. He seemed a little disoriented. “Um, Danny, can you help me find this address? I don’t know the street names around here. I tried to memorize a map earlier, but I don’t think it stuck.”

“Sure.” He was happy to help - even happier that Matt actually asked for it. Before long they were headed in the right direction. 

“Let’s switch to rooftops,” Matt said once they got closer. “I can hear the party now. If we get a vantage nearby, we can keep an eye on things. So to speak.”

They spent a fun few minutes finding fire escapes to vault up before they found a good roof adjacent to the building.

“So what do you expect to happen?” Danny asked.

“Best case scenario? Nothing.” Matt’s mouth quirked into a frown. “My best friend is in there, along with dozens of innocent bystanders. A little digging revealed that the man hosting the party - the guy who hired Luke - helped broker a deal for Mariah Dillard with a plastics company that made her a lot of money.”

“Who’s the guy?”

“A guy who calls himself Piranha Jones.” His tone betrayed his distaste. He shook his head. “Before you say it, the papers were the ones who called me Daredevil. I didn’t pick the name. This guy did.”

Danny was totally going to say it, but he scoffed. “I wasn’t saying anything.”

“Right.” He tilted his head again. “So, worst case scenario, Bushmaster sends some people to get to Pirahna to send a message to Mariah. She seems to be at the heart of the Bushmaster puzzle. Whatever he wants, it has something to do with her.”

“So we’re here just in case.” Danny digested that. “Wait, does Luke know we’re here?”

“Of course not. But Foggy does.” Matt hopped up onto the roof ledge and crouched like some kind of crimson gargoyle. “It’s hard to tell from out here. There’s a lot of noise between the music and the conversation. There’s definitely drugs in there. And sex. Lots of all kinds of depravity.”

“Can you hear Luke?”

“He’s not the most talkative guy at the best of times.”

They settled in to wait. This was Danny’s least favorite part of heroing: recon and stakeouts. Give him someone to punch anyday. Matt seemed entertained trying to track the activity in the party, but all Danny had to look at was a few people coming and going from the building and some pedestrians on the street. 

He was this close to striking up a conversation when Matt’s burner phone started ringing.

 _Jay jay jay_ it intoned robotically.

Matt turned slightly from the roof to answer it. “Jess? Calm down. What’s - severed heads?”

Danny’s brows shot up.

“No, that’s horrible. Yes, I know - pictures are good, yes. No, it’s -” Matt’s head jerked up abruptly. Even Danny with his normal ears could hear muffled gunfire and screaming from the building they were watching. “I have to go. Something’s happening,” Matt said shortly. He shoved the phone into his suit and gestured for Danny to follow him down the fire escape.

Panicked people were starting to pour out out the building. The gunfire had stopped, but Danny followed Matt to where there was an incongruous taxi cab waiting at the street. Sure enough, a side entrance burst open to reveal a couple of men dragging another man who was screaming shrilly. The men stopped short at the sight of Daredevil and Iron Fist standing abreast, Daredevil with a visible grin and Iron Fist cracking his knuckles.

Whatever they were, the men were not stupid. They immediately backpedaled. Danny felt a grin stretching across his own face when he hear Luke let out a bellow of rage from inside. The men apparently decided the two vigilantes were less scary than one Luke Cage, so they ran back outside. The hostage hadn’t stopped screaming and begging the entire time.

The would-be kidnappers had guns, and backup pouring in from the street. Danny and Matt were outnumbered and surrounded.

“Finally, a fair fight,” Danny said lightly.

“Or close enough.” Without warning, Matt lashed out with his baton, lightning-fast. His attack knocked the gun out of one man’s hand. 

Danny took that as his cue to leap into the fray. He started raining punches and kicks into the reinforcements coming from the surrounding area. In the back of his head, he kept some focus on the hostage, but the majority of his focus was on the men he was fighting. One wrong move, he got a bullet in his spleen. He kept moving.

Over the sound of meaty thuds and groans, he heard Luke yell, “You guys are here?”

“Coincidentally!” Matt yelled. He sent a man flying into Danny’s waiting kick.

“We’re gonna talk about this later!” Luke promised.

“Just get Piranha out of here,” Matt called. “We’ll hold them off.”

Danny spared a glance away from his fight to see Luke grab the shrill man and run for it. He and Matt dashed in to knock away the group of Jamaicans who tried to follow.

“Don’t let them get away!” one of the guys yelled.

As fraught as the situation was, Danny still managed to laugh. He and Matt fell in together, just like they’d practiced so many times.

The Jamaicans never stood a chance.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which the author finds that putting Danny and Matt together without supervision turns into the snarky comedy hour. I'm starting to really love these two. They're just a couple of trolls.

“Harlem PD is going to love this,” Matt said.

“I think you and I have different definitions of love,” Danny said slowly.

The aftermath of the failed kidnapping could perhaps be best described as complete carnage. Many of the attackers had managed to run away, but there were at least half a dozen beaten into various states of unconsciousness on the ground around Piranha’s building. There were blood splatters all over the place, and he was pretty sure Matt’s gloves were actually _squelching_. Once again, he was glad that Matt had turned to vigilantism instead of actual crime. He seemed to teeter on a fine edge most days.

“Good news, they have more gang members to interrogate,” Matt said reasonably. “Bad news, I’ve lost track of Luke and Piranha.”

Danny pulled out his phone and dialed Luke. It rang and rang until it went to voicemail. He canceled the call with a sigh. “They could be anywhere by now.”

“Let’s get out of here. Police will be here in two minutes,” Matt said. His head tilted as they jogged away from the scene of the crime. “Watch out for cars. There’s a lot of word-of-mouth chatter along these streets. People in cars of some kind. Jamaican accents. They’re looking for Piranha.”

Matt’s phone started talking again. 

_Fog, fog, fog_ it said.

“Foggy,” Matt said when he flipped it open. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Their jog slowed down. Danny waited patiently for them to finish.

“We’re okay,” Matt was saying. “We’re trying to find Luke and Piranha before the Jamaicans do. No. Yeah. Is there anywhere he would go? ...Right. Can you call the police station and ask Misty if he’s there? We’re going to keep looking. Okay, thanks, Fogs.”

Matt gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Danny. Foggy said he doesn’t know where Luke would go.”

“He’s probably somewhere nearby,” Danny said. “Maybe if we switch to rooftops, you could hear them better?”

“If they’re hiding, they’re probably trying to be quiet,” Matt answered with a frown. Regardless, he followed Danny to an alley with a fire escape. 

“Can’t you, like, hear their heart or breathing or something?”

“I can do a lot, but I’m not a miracle worker,” he groaned. “Heartbeats and breathing aren’t actually very distinct. They kind of just sound like gushy thumping and wheezing. We’ll listen around, but our best bet would be if he answered his phone.”

Danny grunted and dragged himself up the fire escape. Matt was on his heels. A thought occurred to him halfway up. 

“Hey, Matt, what was Jessica saying about severed heads?”

“Oh, yeah,” Matt said. “The grand opening of the clinic was a disaster. Someone staked three severed heads in the entryway. On live tv.”

“Oh.” Danny felt queasy. “Who does something like that? And whose heads?”

“I’m not sure,” Matt said. “On either subject. I bet the heads have some connection to Bushmaster and/or Mariah. And process of elimination says it was the Jamaicans. Apparently they’re into kidnapping - why not dismemberment, too?”

They were on the rooftop now. Danny tried his phone again. It rang three times before Luke answered.

“Danny?”

“Luke,” Danny said happily. “Where are you? Is Piranha with you?”

“Yeah, he’s with me. We’re not doing well, though. He got hurt when we ran off, and the Jamaicans are out looking for us. They have a cab service they’re using as a cover.”

“Tell us where you are. We can get you somewhere safe.”

“Not right now,” Luke said. “I need to talk to Piranha first, find out what he knows that the Jamaicans want so badly.”

“Can’t you do that at the police station,” Danny said desperately. “These guys are bad news.”

“Trust me on this, Danny,” Luke said. He hung up.

Danny groaned in frustration and put his phone away. “You heard all that?”

Matt nodded. “Let's think about this rationally: they're on foot. Piranha is injured. They couldn't have gotten far. Look around, Danny. Do you see any buildings that look run down or abandoned?”

Danny looked. “Um, not really. It's dark - it's kind of hard to see.”

“Yeah, I can't see either,” he said. He must have sensed the scowl on Danny's face, because he laughed. “Let's keep going. You look, I'll listen, I'm sure we'll find them. Just watch out - I'm picking up a lot if people out looking for them. Piranha must be important.”

Danny followed him across the rooftop. They leapt onto the next one together. Danny kept a lookout, but the dark streets and shadowy buildings didn’t give him much to work with.

“Why do you think they want Piranha?” he asked.

Matt was quiet for a few minutes. His head was cocked like he was listening. 

“Matt?”

“I’m thinking,” he said. “I’m a defense attorney. Corporate law was never my strong suit. The best I can assume is that it’s about the money. Piranha brokered the deal between Mariah and Atreus Plastics that got her all this money. He most likely has access to all of the accounts and information. He may even have power of attorney over her estate.”

“So Bushmaster wants the money?”

“Or he doesn’t want her to have it.” Matt shrugged, and they jumped together to another rooftop. “Either way, he’s just a civilian bystander. I doubt Bushmaster will be gentle if he gets his hands on him. We need to protect him.”

“First we need to find him.” Danny peered over the edge. The streets didn’t offer much insight. Pedestrians scurried about on their business. A dark taxi cab drove slowly down the street.

“I’m hearing something,” Matt said. Danny went silent and waited. Matt nodded. “I got them. Faint, but they’re in an abandoned building on the street there. Sounds big, like a theatre or concert hall or something. Do you see anything like that?”

Danny squinted. “Yeah. Yeah, there’s an old theatre there.”

“That’s where they are.”

He followed him down to street level. They approached the building as stealthily as possible. Matt halted them near the back entrance.

“Wait,” he said.

“What’s going on?”

Matt smirked. “They’re having a bonding moment. I don’t want to interrupt.”

Danny scoffed. “Really, Matt?”

“Codenames,” he reminded him. “And no, it’s not just that. There’s a large group of men sneaking in from the other side of the building. Luke can’t hear them because he and Piranha are talking about their crappy childhoods.”

“The Jamaicans?”

“Undoubtedly.” Matt’s smile was the ugly, grim smirk he always wore at the prospect of impending violence. “Wanna go make some noise?”

Danny cracked his knuckles and checked his hand wraps. “I thought you’d never ask, _Daredevil_.”

“Lead the way, _Iron Fist_ ,” he rejoined.

Danny cracked the door open and followed Matt’s pointing to the right hallway. Matt held up a fist to signal them to stop. Danny strained his ears and heard the floor creaking underneath multiple men’s feet. There was a metallic scrape as someone chambered a round in a gun. He glanced at Matt, who nodded. He grit his teeth, took a moment to center himself, and kicked the door down.

There were a lot of men in the next room. 

The good part was that none of them were expecting an ambush. There was a confusion of sound and light as a few men shot their weapons, but in the close quarters and dim lighting, the Jamaicans were left with not much option beyond hand-to-hand.

Danny and Matt were hand-to-hand experts.

It was disappointingly like shooting fish in a barrel. 

The front line of them went down quickly. Danny distantly heard the crunch of bones as Daredevil took a disabling approach to putting them down. Men were screaming as they fell into the whirlwind that was the two of them working together. He saw a group of them break and run out of a side door out of the corner of his eye.

“Luke,” he screamed, hoping he could hear him over the din. “Coming your way! Watch out!”

He caught a pistol whip that was heading for his face. He struck out with his palm and broke the man’s nose with a sick crunch. Matt stepped around the groaning man to follow the other group. Danny kicked one last man, hopefully spraining his ankle, before he followed Matt down, down into the basement.

Gunfire filled the building with deafening echoes. Matt staggered a little from the force of it. Danny pushed around him to race the rest of the way down the stairs. 

Luke was there, standing off against three men who apparently never got the “bulletproof” memo. The Piranha man was cowering behind some meager cover, whimpering and groaning like a scared child. Danny struck out at the armed men, scattering them. Luke charged in as well. Between the two of them, the last three fell within seconds.

“Y’all followed me here?” Luke was scowling.

“You’re welcome,” Matt said dryly from the doorway.

“You! And you!” The Piranha man was done cowering, it seems. “Maybe you have some integrity. I will pay you a million dollars if you _get me out of here!_ ”

“Come on, man,” Luke said tiredly.

“We need to get him somewhere safe,” Matt said. “We know he has something to do with Mariah Dillard’s finances.”

“And we know Bushmaster wants him bad,” Danny added. “He’s got taxis full of his guys combing the streets for you two.”

“I’m aware,” Luke said. He sighed loudly. “I can’t take him to the precinct. It’s not safe there. Some of the cops may be dirty, and Misty’s not enough to protect this guy by herself.”

“Can we get him out of Harlem?” Matt asked.

“Not right now, with the streets so hot,” he answered. “Best case scenario, we wait it out until morning, get him somewhere better in the day. These Jamaicans are ruthless - it seems they can get in anywhere.”

“We could call the Punisher,” Danny said with a sly grin. “He could probably kill them all by morning.”

He relished the look of horror Matt threw his way - what he could see under the mask, at least. “Iron Fist - really?”

“He’s joking,” Luke said, mostly for Piranha’s benefit. The businessman looked intrigued by the suggestion. “I know somewhere he can go until morning, at least. My dad’s church.”

Matt tilted his head. “Your heavenly Father, or…?”

“My biological father,” Luke said flatly. “He’s in Harlem. Help me get Piranha here to him, we can make a game plan from there.”

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Piranha asked.

“No,” the three said in unison.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost regret how dramatic this story started out in the first two chapters. I've tried to inject as much humor and warmth as I can in the rest to make up for it. I'm not actually very good at writing drama and angst. I always want to crack jokes and have people treat each other gently and well. It's my fatal character flaw.

From what Danny had heard about Luke’s relationship with his father, and from Luke’s own stature, he was expecting someone… bigger. Meaner. 

Instead, an older man, genial and welcoming, walked into the church about half an hour after the sun started filtering through the stained glass windows.

Danny pulled himself out of his meditative trance and looked over. Luke was ramrod tense. Piranha was a bored, exhausted slouch. Matt looked incredibly out of place in his red armor and devil horns, sitting daintily on a pew. The reverend gave him an especially sharp look.

“This isn’t how I expected you to come visit me,” the man said in a deep voice. “Not that I will complain.”

“I can’t stay,” Luke said. “But I need your help.”

“Anything,” he said without hesitation.

Luke gestured to Piranha. “This is Raymond Jones. He needs a place to hide. And these,” he gestured to Danny and Matt. “Are my friends and associates. The Iron Fist and Daredevil.”

Danny stood up and pulled his bandana down. He offered a hand. “You can call me Danny, sir. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The man took it. He looked bemused. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, too, Danny. These are some interesting friends you’ve made, Carl.”

Piranha jumped in, then. “May I say it’s also a pleasure to meet you, sir? My friends call me Piranha. It’s an honor to meet the reverend behind the big man. So, tell me. How was he as a kid? Was he always this strong?”

The father and son duo gave him the same flat look.

“Carl, could we have a word in private, please?”

Luke nodded and followed his father. “Stay put,” he said to Piranha in passing. Danny gave him a thumbs up. Matt stayed still in his pew.

Piranha turned to Danny after they walked a ways off. “Danny Rand, huh? I recognize you now. You learn some kung fu shit when you crashed in the Himalayas or what? Your shareholders know you run around punching people?”

“It’s not exactly a secret,” Danny said casually. 

Piranha looked flummoxed by his blithe attitude. He turned on Matt.

“So, man, what’s the deal with the horns?”

Matt didn’t move. Danny suddenly wondered if he was even awake.

“Not talking? Tough guy thing? Fine. I can dig it.” Piranha crossed his arms and fell into what could be best called a sulk.

Matt abruptly stood and walked towards the two men.

“I can have Jessica come over here and watch Piranha if you just give her some time to get here,” he said.

“It shouldn’t take that long,” Luke said.

“What are you planning?”

Luke looked at his father and back to Matt. “I’m going to finish this.”

Matt cleared his throat. “If you don’t want your father to know, fine, but can you at least tell me what’s going to happen?”

“Just stay out of it.”

“Luke, we’re a team,” Matt said. “You’ve got to work with us.”

“Maybe the man in the, uh, devil costume has a point, son,” the reverend said. “If you’re into something dangerous…”

Luke’s jaw jutted out stubbornly. “Piranha’s going to be safe here. I’ll fill you in outside. Just… leave my dad out of this.”

Matt nodded in acquiescence. Luke gave his father one last loaded look. He strode over to Danny and Piranha. 

“You staying here, Danny?”

“Do I need to?” He glanced between the reverend and Piranha. 

Piranha put his hands up. “I’m staying right here, man. Not going anywhere. God’s honest truth.”

Luke nodded at that. “If one of us doesn’t come back in an hour, call Misty Knight at the Harlem PD. She’ll protect you.”

They filed out of the church.

“I picked this phone up from one of the Jamaicans who attacked us,” Luke said. “I’m going to set up a meeting with Bushmaster. Old West shootout style.”

“Is that a good idea?” Danny fidgeted nervously. “He kind of took you out last time.”

“He cold-cocked me by surprise last time. This time I’ll be ready for it.”

Matt chewed his lip. His costume stuck out strangely in the morning light. “Just an observation, but I’ve never had good experiences trying to take on bad guys one on one. I’ve been disemboweled, had my head bashed into a table, gotten shot in the head… It’s just never been a good idea.”

Luke and Danny shared an incredulous look.

“Dude, are you okay?” He’d been sure Matt had gone through some bad stuff, judging from the hint of scars he’d seen, but this was the first he’d heard of all this.

Matt forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m good.”

Luke shook his head and steered the conversation back on course. “I need to finish this, Matt. I can't let Bushmaster keep tearing through Harlem cutting people's heads off. If I can take him down, the Jamaicans go away and this all blows over. It's the right move.”

“At least have us on standby. Bushmaster’s already shown that he fights dirty. If he pulls some trick, at least have us there as backup.”

“Yeah,” Danny said. “We can't let you get killed trying to prove a point.”

“If nothing else, we can avenge you,” Matt said with a smile. 

Luke shot him a wry look. “Thought that wasn't our tagline, man.”

“We're borrowing it.”

“Make the phone call,” Danny interjected. “Let's finish this.”

The duel was set for noon. Danny ran back to tell Piranha to stay put a little longer. Matt took the opportunity to sneak back to his apartment to change into civilian clothes. They all rendezvoused at High Bridge at 11:30.

Matt and Danny perched on a guard rail. Matt was dressed in jeans with a hoodie pulled over his head and dark sunglasses rather than his usual red lenses. Danny spared the thought to wonder how he kept track of which glasses were which color. His cane and a baton were shoved into his front hoodie pocket. Luke stood a ways off, silent and still as a statue.

“I don’t like this,” Matt said.

Danny shrugged. He spared a moment to wish he’d grabbed a bigger breakfast. His stomach was growling again. 

Matt sighed. “It’s his choice, though. We have to let him do this.”

“It’ll be okay,” Danny said. “Luke is the toughest man I know.”

They lapsed into tense silence. A breeze whipped past them.

“Showtime,” Matt said suddenly.

They were a ways off, but Danny could see a lone man walking down the bridge to them. He recognized him from the video. He couldn’t hear from here, but he and Luke were exchanging words. Luke had a confident swagger. The blows started without warning.

Danny ached to jump in and help, but he restrained himself. This was Luke’s fight. They seemed evenly matched, but Luke was outlasting him. He struck one last blow.

“Something’s wrong,” Matt said.

Bushmaster blew some kind of powder into Luke’s face. He locked up. Danny and Matt started running for the two in unison. The conditions of the fight had already been broken. Bushmaster snarled a grin at them and kicked Luke through the fence, over the edge of the bridge.

Danny froze for the barest second, but Matt was darting past him. He watched in horror as he leapt over the bridge without hesitation.

He and Bushmaster were unified in their disbelief for just a moment. Danny turned to Bushmaster, who flinched into a fighting stance.

“You wanna avenge your friend, boy?”

Danny shook his head. The words were bitter in his mouth. “You have no honor, but I do. You’ve already been beaten. Get out of here, and hope the both of them come out of this safely. If they die, I will not hesitate to destroy you.”

Bushmaster gave him a long, assessing look. He nodded and limped away. Danny watched him go, then darted to the edge to peer into the water. He saw nothing.

He was frozen. He didn’t know what to do. Finally, he saw two heads break the surface.

“Matt!” he shouted happily.

He watched Matt - and Luke, who seemed okay - swim towards the shore. He started running that direction.

He found both vigilantes in a limp puddle at the edge of the river. They were both breathing hard.

“You’re both okay!” Danny collapsed next to them in relief. “I thought for sure you would…”

“What happened with Bushmaster?” Luke was gasping, but he was moving, albeit sluggishly.

“I let him go. There’s no honor in beating a man who’s already beaten.”

“No honor in trying to drown one either,” Luke groaned and collapsed further into the dirt.

“He’s okay,” Matt said. “It wore off in the water. He was already moving when I found him.”

Danny turned his look at Matt. “Matt, that was insane. If Jessica had seen that…”

“Can we not tell Jessica?”

He finally cracked a smile. “Sorry, Matt, but she’s already made me promise I would tell her if you did something stupid. I’m more scared of her than I am you.”

“Smart man,” Matt agreed. “I’d do the same.”

“We need to find Piranha.” Luke dragged himself upright. He was unsteady, a little punch-drunk. Matt followed, looking like a drowned puppy. “Bushmaster may have found him by now. We have to get him out of Harlem, get him somewhere Bushmaster wouldn’t look.”

“Frank might have a safehouse we could use,” Matt offered. “If we can get him to help without murdering all the Jamaicans.”

“They’re called Stylers,” Luke said. “Not Jamaicans. And yeah, maybe that would work.”

The trio staggered off. It was a long, soggy walk back to the church. They dragged themselves through the front door and collapsed into the pews.

Luke’s father greeted them there. Luke still seemed pretty out of it. He passed out on the pew. Matt checked his pulse.

“I think he’s okay,” he said. “The paralytic and the dunking in the river probably caught up with him. Let him sleep it off. What happened to Piranha?”

The reverend looked uncomfortable. “He left about half an hour ago. I couldn’t stop him.”

Danny closed his eyes and sighed. “He could be anywhere now.”

“Let’s hope he went somewhere safe,” Matt said. “Thank you for your help, sir. Can you watch over Luke?”

“He’s my son. Of course.”

“What should we do?” Danny asked.

“I don’t know.” For once, Matt looked lost. “I’ll reconvene with Jessica, see if she can help me find him.”

“I’ll call Misty, let her know what’s up.”

He watched Matt leave. The reverend - James? - looked at him in askance.

“Was that the man in the devil suit?”

Danny laughed. “Uh, yeah, that’s his human suit. He helped fish Luke out of the river. Bushmaster paralyzed him, kicked him in when he couldn’t move.”

“So that man saved my son’s life.” James sank down into the pew beside his son’s head. “Thank him for me, will you? I owe him a great debt.”

“You really love him, don’t you?” Danny watched the two hungrily. He missed his own father fiercely. He shook his head to try to dispel the flashbacks he was sure were coming. The last thing he wanted was to relive his father’s death again. It seemed he could hardly ever remember him without also remembering his last moments.

“He’s my son,” the man said simply. “I’ve made mistakes. So many mistakes. But I do love him, and I want to do right by him. He’s my boy. He’s all I have.”

Danny nodded. “We’ll do everything we can to help your son. Thank you, sir.”

They exchanged a nod. Danny pulled his phone out at soon as he was outside. 

Misty answered after two rings. “What is it, Danny?”

“A lot has happened, Misty,” he said. “Luke had Piranha last night. He was at his dad’s church. He had a showdown with Bushmaster and almost died. He’s still not doing well, and Piranha is gone. He left the church half an hour ago, nobody’s seen him since. We need help finding him.”

Misty sighed over the line. “That’s more than we knew, but Danny, there may not be much I can do to help. I turned in my badge and gun last night.”

Danny froze. “You did?”

“Yes.” Misty’s voice was guarded. “I saw some things that made me question the way we do things. I think maybe I can do more outside of the law. The way you guys do.”

“That’s…” Danny didn’t know what to say.

“I’ll let the precinct know what you told me, but I’m not sure how much help I can be. Sorry, Danny.”

“That’s okay,” he said woodenly. 

Misty sighed again. “Look, Danny, I’ll get in contact with Luke once he’s up again. We’ll pool our resources. Why don’t you take a break? When’s the last time you slept?”

That was a good question. His silence was enough of an answer for her.

“Go home, Danny. Go get something to eat, get some sleep. Give Colleen a kiss. Harlem and Luke Cage will still be waiting when you get back. Trust me. There’s always shit going down in Harlem. You’re no good if you’re half-asleep and starving.”

“Fine,” he said. “But call me if you need me. I’ll be there.”

“I will, Danny. Get some rest.”

They ended the call, and Danny resolved to do just that. He’d be ready when Luke needed him. Just as soon as he got some sleep, meditated, and ate a family-size spread of Chinese takeaway.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHO'S HYPED FOR IRON FIST SEASON 2 TOMORROW?? Come on, guys, it's probably going to be not-terrible, which is step up from season 1.
> 
> A couple of notes.
> 
> 1\. I know Bushmaster did some horrible things. The cutting off heads stuff was pretty terrible. And trying to burn people alive. It was some sketchy stuff. At the same time, I don't think he's necessarily a bad guy. Like, he was nuanced. So he gets to be a little more than a mindless villain in here.
> 
> 2\. I refuse, for the most part, to try to write out accents phonetically. Occasional slang terms, leaving the g off of an -ing word, that's fine. But no way am I writing Jamaican accents out phonetically. Y'all all know what they sound like. 
> 
> 3\. Way back in Jessica Jones season 1, when Kilgrave turned Luke Cage on her? I was terrified. I wasn't even in danger there, and I was scared shitless. Luke Cage is one scary mother. So Jessica talks about that a little here - which was a completely unexpected scene, she totally blindsided me with that - and I just want you to remember how scary he was.
> 
> 4\. I will never apologize for using Frank and Matt together for pure comic relief. Those two slay me.
> 
> Please enjoy this monster chapter that kept growing out of control. These characters are loud.

He woke up hours later in Colleen’s bed with her arms wrapped around him. He had no idea what time it was. He groaned, and she wriggled.

“Naptime’s over already?”

Her voice was sleepy and soft. Danny was ambushed by the swell of affection he felt for her. He couldn’t resist tightening his arms around her and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Her hair smelled like sweat and the conditioner she used, and her skin carried a hint of the tiger balm she used for sore muscles.

“Do you know what time it is?” He asked.

Colleen yawned. “No, I came to join you after my last class. Lemme check.”

She tugged herself out of his arms and groped around for her phone.

“It’s, uh, a little after seven.”

He blinked. “I slept longer than I meant to.”

“You needed it.” 

Colleen snuggled back into his arms again. He ran his hands over her soft, bare arms. She was beautiful, she was strong, and for some reason, she wanted to be his. He loved her so much. She grinned like she could read his mind, snuck in to steal a kiss. That kiss turned into three or four. The last one stole what was left of his breath. He grinned into it and decided that the world could wait for a little while. They had time.

He later checked his phone while Colleen took a shower. He had a message from Matt saying that he and Jessica couldn’t find Piranha. A message from Foggy, thanking him for being there to back up Luke and Matt. Finally, a message from Luke.

_Piranha is dead. Bushmaster._

Danny set the phone down and closed his eyes. Let his feelings of frustration, anger, disappointment wash over him. He took a deep breath and typed back a reply, apologizing and asking if Luke needed help. He got no response.

He wasn’t sure if they should go back out tonight. Luke wasn’t good about asking for help. He tried asking Misty. She texted back within an hour.

_Don’t come out tonight. Drama at the precinct, nothing you can help with. I’ll let you know if that changes._

That was better than he usually got. He thanked her and gave Colleen a smile when she came back from the bathroom with her hair twisted into a towel.

“Quiet night in, or you wanna go fight crime?”

She grinned and made a show of thinking about it. 

“Come on, you’re really going to ask? Date night, obviously. We always go fight crime. Let’s have some time to ourselves for once.”

He couldn’t argue with that. He grinned and picked out some slightly nicer clothes while she found a dress and some flat shoes. He was pretty sure Harlem wouldn’t burn down without him for one night.

He was wrong. 

He checked the news the next morning. The drama in Harlem was Mariah Dillard’s brownstone burning to the ground. He groaned and let his head fall to the breakfast table.

“What’s wrong?” Colleen asked.

“Bad wording, and Luke’s own brand of terrible luck.” He handed her the phone with the news article.

Her forehead creased with a frown. “That’s horrible. I mean, I know she’s a bad guy, but still, I’m glad she and her daughter didn’t burn to death. That would have been terrible.”

He couldn’t help but agree. Death by fire was… not ideal.

“I’ll text Misty and Luke,” he said. “Let them know you and me are on standby if things get crazy again.”

Colleen nodded grimly. “I wanna take this Bushmaster guy out. He’s a loose canon.”

They texted Jessica and Matt, updated them on the situation. Then they settled in to wait. They ended up waiting until late afternoon, when Danny got a frantic call.

“We need a safehouse,” Misty said. “Bushmaster’s on our tail, the precinct is compromised, they tried to kill Luke’s dad. It’s war out here, Danny. Do you have anywhere nearby we could take them?”

“Wait just a second.” He pulled the phone away to pull up the spreadsheet he had saved to help him keep track of important dates and info for his company. “Okay, yes, there’s a research building that’s not opening until next month. You and Luke should both have access. I’ll text you the address and security key.”

“Thank you, Danny. You’re a lifesaver.”

She hung up, and he turned to Colleen. She was already moving for her sword and sneakers.

“Time to be backup,” he said.

Colleen nodded. “Best case scenario, we’re not needed?”

He laughed. “Nothing so far has been best case scenario, so I’d plan for, like, an army of Stylers with Hammer Tech weapons and their own pocket Iron Man.”

She nodded and grabbed some bandage for wrapping her hands and the reinforced undershirt that Matt had gotten his as-yet-unrevealed armor guy to make for her. It wasn’t bulletproof, but it was more flexible than kevlar. Danny had to grin. Matt was slowly but surely replacing all their gear with knife-resistant reinforced fabric. He was going to have to find out who his armor guy was and get him on an actual payroll.

He called Jessica first.

“Hey,” he said. “There’s trouble in Harlem. Me and Colleen are going to back Luke up. You in?”

“Yeah, just tell me where,” she said. “Just don’t call Matt.”

He paused. “Um, why not?”

“He’s been working too hard lately,” she said. “And honestly? Of all of us, Matt’s the most determined to get himself killed. If Bushmaster can take Luke on one-on-one and come out ahead, that’s not something I want Matt to try to take on with just his little sticks. I’ve got super-strength, you’ve got your fisty thing, but he’s just an idiot. At least Colleen’s smart enough to stay away from Bushmaster if it comes to that.”

She had a point. “Okay, we’ll leave Matt out. I’ll text you the address. It’s a big Rand building - shouldn’t be easy to miss.”

“See you there.”

He and Colleen finished getting ready. They skipped the Rand driving service - caught a regular cab up to a building a street or two away from their actual destination. The Rand building looked good, and most importantly, quiet. He couldn’t help a swell of pride, looking at his name on the sign. The legacy his father built. They could do good things for people from here.

“I’m calling Misty,” Colleen said. She looked beautiful in her white clothes with her katana over her shoulder. She frowned at him. “Danny, focus. This is serious.”

“Yes, of course,” he said. He found a sheltered spot to duck into. Colleen whipped out her phone.

“Misty, it’s me.” She paused, then laughed. “Did you really think we wouldn’t? Of course we’re here.” Danny could hear Misty’s garbled voice through the speakers, but couldn’t hear her words. Colleen rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know that’s the ideal, but like Danny said to me earlier, nothing has gone best-case scenario so far, so why would it start going right now? I’m just letting you know that if anything goes wrong, we’re right out here. You’re not alone in there.”

Her face softened into a gentle smile that Misty couldn’t see. Danny smiled along with her, though. “We’re here, Misty, and you tell Luke we’re here, too. Neither one of you are alone.”

She put the phone away and her smile shifted into a smirk. 

“They’re okay in there?” Danny asked.

“Yeah, they’ve got Mariah and her daughter and Luke’s father in there,” Colleen said. 

“Misty tried to tell us to go away?”

“Of course.” Colleen rolled her eyes again. “Is there something in the water in Harlem that makes people pig-headed stubborn, or is it just a Luke and Misty thing?”

“She’s lucky to have you for a friend,” he said softly.

Colleen blushed a little. “That’s sweet, Danny, but we really should focus on watching out for trouble.”

Danny laughed and shoved his hands into his pockets. He loved her so much. She didn’t like to talk about stuff like this, but he was so happy when he saw her and Misty getting along. She was the one who’d badgered and heckled his R&D department for Misty’s prosthetic. She’d even threatened to outreach to Stark Industries if they couldn’t deliver on a working design. He’d never seen a team of engineers and neurosurgeons work faster and harder in his life. It was mean, but the finished product, so he’d heard, had been a beauty to behold. Hopefully he’d see it tonight.

His ears caught the scuff of a boot in the gravel. Working with Matt so much had made him hyper-aware of his other senses. Still, he didn’t recognize it as Jessica until she strolled up with a paper cup of coffee and a scowl on her face.

“Jessica,” Danny said.

“Dragon boy,” she replied. Her scowl didn’t lift. “Did either of you even check the perimeter or check in with the people inside?”

He cast a glance at Colleen. She didn’t look fazed.

“We were just about to,” he said.

“Save it. Perimeter is clean.” Jessica moved closer to them to plop herself on the ground cross-legged and take a swig of coffee. “Luke okay in there?”

“They’re fine,” Colleen answered for him. “So far, no activity from the Stylers. Everything goes okay, we don’t see any action tonight.”

“When does that ever happen?” 

“How did you get Matt to stay home?”

Jessica’s grin was wicked. “I sicced Karen on him. She miraculously came up with something urgent that he and Frank needed to look into. He and Frank will be at each other’s throats all night. I also may have implied that I would cut him off from sex if he bothered me tonight.”

Colleen also grinned, and Danny shuddered. He definitely didn’t prefer going out with the girls. He and Luke each could probably punch a man’s head clean off, but the girls in the group were way scarier. And he definitely, 100% did not ever want to think about Jessica and Matt having sex ever. Not after the couch. A sound dragged his attention back to the present.

He cocked his head. “Um, guys? Am I hearing reggae music?”

The girls shared a look. They were silent. He heard the music and the sound of cars. They as one peeked around their cover.

“That’s a lot of cars,” Colleen said.

“And blasting intimidating reggae music?” Jessica snorted again and chugged the rest of her coffee. “Sounds like our cue, guys. So much for not being needed.”

“We could hope.” Danny sighed and pulled his hood up. He glanced around. Colleen’s fingers creaked on her grip on her sword. Jessica looked bored. He nodded at them.

“Let’s go reason with the Stylers.”

Jessica chuckled. “Yep. Totally reasonable. That’s us.”

“We have to try,” he begged.

“They don’t look like they want to reason,” Colleen said.

Jessica cursed. “Is that a fucking rocket launcher?”

Danny groaned and they speeded up their run towards the group of armed Stylers. “Seriously guys, but fuck Hammer Tech!”

Colleen laughed breathlessly. The Stylers saw them coming, trained their guns on them. Bushmaster himself gave them an unimpressed appraisal.

“This is how it is, then?” He turned his face to the building and cupped his hands around his mouth. “You hide behind women and children now, Luke Cage?”

“He’s sexist, too?” Jessica asked.

“No disrespect meant, ma’am,” Bushmaster said with an easy grin. 

The trio of Defenders shared an uncertain look. Bushmaster turned back to the building.

“Lemme reason with you, Luke Cage! You’re a hard man fi dead! You can’t burn, you can’t drown, so why fight?” He glanced back at the Defenders. “I don’t want to hurt your friends. I don’t want to hurt your pa or anyone. All of you can go home tonight. Just give me Mariah Stokes. No one has to war tonight. You know who she is. The Devil made flesh.”

Jessica snorted. Bushmaster glanced at her again. 

“Give me Mariah Stokes and let me do what you won’t! Make your choice, but make it fast.”

“You think we’re going to let you fire that thing?” Jessica gestured to the missile launcher.

“Yeah, I can’t really let you do that,” Danny added. “I literally just built this building, you see? It would be a shame to let you blow it up.”

Bushmaster grinned again. “You really think you three can stop me?”

Jessica shrugged. “Maybe.”

And quick as a flash, she grabbed the man nearest to her and threw him bodily at the man with the missile launcher. Bushmaster’s eyebrows shot up, and just like that, the yard turned into chaos.

Colleen was moving like lightning before the man Jessica had grabbed had even made it halfway to his target. Danny was right behind her. They both charged the startled man with the launcher. Jessica and Bushmaster were occupied with each other. Bushmaster was fast, but what Jessica lacked in finesse, she made up for with brutality. He glimpsed her swinging a car door at Bushmaster. 

He fought off the men nearest, keeping them from firing as Colleen viciously ripped the weapon away from the big man. He heard a crash of glass, and a thunderous thud, and there was Luke, belowing his rage and charging straight for where Bushmaster and Jessica were trading blows.

“He’s mine,” he said to Jessica as he sidestepped into their fight.

Jessica bared her bloody teeth in a snarl and stepped away. They all moved away as Luke and Bushmaster went toe to toe again. He and Colleen threw their assailants all into a pile. It was only Bushmaster left.

“I’m going in to check on Misty,” Colleen panted.

“I’ll go with,” Jessica said. She cast one last glance over the two fighters but seemed satisfied with what she saw. The girls ran inside. 

Danny wavered, but this was something Luke had to do alone. The least he could do was stand and watch as Luke finally beat Bushmaster down.

It was over.

“Police are coming,” Luke said to him. “Might want to get out of here before they show up and ask questions.”

“Okay,” Danny said simply. “You’re okay?”

Luke nodded, and he smiled. It was the first genuine smile he’d seen in weeks. “I’m - I’m really good. Thank you Danny. You never gave up on me, did you?”

“Never, Luke.” He could hear the sirens now. “If you need somewhere to sleep, you can come with me tonight?’

Luke hesitated and shook his head. “No, I… I should be with my dad tonight.”

He smiled again, and it was fragile and tentative, but genuine. Danny’s own face broke into a grin. 

“I’m glad. Tell him I said hi.”

“I will,” Luke said, and shooed him. “Hurry up and get the girls out of here.”

Danny ran into the building as police lights came into view. Colleen and Jessica were in the lobby.

“Back door?” Colleen asked. He nodded to her and they ran for it. 

They just managed to make it out of the area before the cops got there. They found an alley to catch their breath in. 

“Was everyone okay inside?”

Colleen shook her head. “I don’t know. Misty was in there, and there were bodies, but we didn’t see Mariah or Luke’s dad. Misty told us to get out before backup got there. Is Luke okay?”

“He’s good.” He turned to Jessica, who was quiet. “You alright?”

Her nose was bloody, and her knuckles were bruised. She tucked her hair behind her ear and sighed. 

“Yep, I’m good.”

“You sure?”

She wiped her hands on her jeans. “Yep, I’m sure. That Bushmaster guy was just strong. Stronger than anyone I’ve met since Luke. I just.. Wasn’t ready for it.”

There had to be more to the story. Danny cast a glance to Colleen, but she was already on it. Womanly powers again. She moved to Jessica and looped their arms together. 

“Let’s go find a diner,” she said. “It’s been a long night.”

They walked arm in arm. The thunderclouds never passed from Jessica’s expression. Danny made it his job to scout out a 24-hour diner. He could still hear the women talking quietly.

“Bad memories?” Colleen asked.

Jessica snorted. She didn’t let go of Colleen’s arm, though. “Yeah. I’m kind of used to being the strongest person in the room, you know? I don’t like fighting people who are just as strong as me.”

“It can be scary,” Colleen agreed.

There was silence behind him as they waited at a crosswalk. When Jessica spoke again, it was louder.

“Luke tried to kill me once. And I never want to experience that again.”

The light changed. Jessica pushed forward, leaving Danny and Colleen frozen.

“Hurry up before it changes,” she said.

They scrambled to catch up. Jessica was several paces ahead with her hands shoved into her pockets.

“You can’t just drop a bomb like that and then walk away,” Colleen protested.

“Can and will,” Jessica said shortly. “You asked why I was weird about Bushmaster, this is me talking about it. Fighting people like that is scary, that’s all.”

“I didn’t know you were scared of anything,” Danny said.

Wrong words. Jessica whirled to glare at him. It flagged after a moment and she sighed.

“Look, both of you,” she said. “I don’t owe you my life story, and I wouldn’t tell you even if I wanted to. There’s shit out there that neither of you need to know about. Private shit. Scary shit. Shit that would make you question this hero shit we do, and you guys are the best of us, okay? I’m not gonna stain you with my shit.”

“We can handle it,” Colleen said stubbornly.

“You probably could,” Jessica allowed. She always had a soft spot for Colleen. “But if you don’t have to, why would you even want this bullshit?”

“Because we’re your friends,” Danny said.

“Then trust me when I tell you to back off.”

They shut up and walked in silence. Jessica led them with lazer focus to a 24-hour diner.

“He didn’t try to kill me of his own free will,” Jessica blurted into the silence. “So forget I even said that. He’s a good man. He’s just… a terrifying force of nature, when it’s turned on you. That’s all I was remembering.”

“Okay,” Colleen said simply. “Thank you for telling us.”

“And you were really badass,” Danny said with subdued enthusiasm. “I saw you rip that car door off its hinges. You totally worked Bushmaster over.”

Jessica shook her head, but there was a small smile on her lips. “Let’s get some food.”

The waitress didn’t even blink at their bedraggled state, just ushered them to a booth and got coffees poured. Jessica had her phone out, and she snorted.

“What’s so funny?”

“Bushmaster hasn’t hit the news yet, but there’s this,” she read off of the website. “Fire at warehouse on 35th, the Punisher and Daredevil spotted at the scene fighting over what first responders later determined to be a box of matches.”

“Guess Matt lost that fight,” Colleen said dryly.

Danny couldn’t contain his grin. Colleen noticed and raised an eyebrow at him.

“What’s so funny?”

“This,” he said. “This is good. All of us out working together. It feels right.”

Jessica rolled her eyes and surreptitiously poured something from a flask into her coffee. “I’m not giving you a hug, if that’s what you want.”

“Aw, come on guys.” He lifted up his coffee mug for a toast. “To Luke Cage?”

Colleen clinked her mug on his with a cheeky grin. “To the Defenders.”

Jessica rolled her eyes again and declined to toast. They all three drank their bitter black coffee together.

“You’re so cheesy,” Colleen teased.

Danny just smiled. He didn’t care if he was cheesy. They had a big win tonight. His team was working together. In this moment, high from the win, all he could see was how much he loved these people. 

His family.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting closer to the end. I'm struggling, because I HATE transcribing dialogue word-for-word, but I need these scenes to happen. Trying to cover the events without just regurgitating dialogue. I cut this chapter off not only because it was getting long, but it was turning into too much rehashing. Consequently, this fic is now 9 chapters long, since 7 got split up into two.
> 
> I think I need to write more fun one-shots, because WIPs are killer, man. I never even meant to get into this gig. I thought I'd drop a few fics like my Protectors and One Rainy Night and be on my way. Now look at me. I'm writing about freaking Luke and Danny. How did I get here?

He obviously celebrated too soon.

Bushmaster escaped, and Luke went ghost again. Danny was getting real tired of him not answering his phone. Of all people, though, he got a call from Claire two nights after the Bushmaster fight.

“Claire?” He couldn’t keep the hope and joy out of his voice. “How’ve you been? Where are you? Still in Cuba?”

“Slow down, Danny,” she said. It was hard to tell over the phone, but she sounded calmer, more settled than the last time they’d talked. “I’m fine. Yes, I’m still in Cuba. My mama and abuela say hi.”

“I’m glad. Tell them I wish them well.” He couldn’t help but beam.

“I just wanted to check in. How is… everything?”

“Luke is doing better, if that’s what you’re asking,” he said. “We kind of forced him to let us help him with Harlem. We’ve been taking turns going out to help.”

Claire was quiet for a moment. Finally, she said, “Thank you, Danny.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” he said. “You’re both my friends. And… if this doesn’t sound naive, I hope you come back soon. I miss having you be part of the gang.”

She let out a bitter chuckle. “You miss having someone patch you up when you do something stupid.”

“That too,” he said easily. “But I mostly miss those amazing cubano sandwiches you used to bring to Matt’s roof? Oh my god, those were so good.”

That made her laugh in earnest, and he smiled. “Always food to you, Danny?”

“Of course. I tried to make them, and I burnt them, and Colleen’s kitchen smelled like smoke for two days. Oh, she was mad.”

“Yeah, she told me about that.” Claire laughed again and sobered. “You’re going to keep an eye on Luke for me?”

“I would even if you didn’t ask,” he said seriously. “I love you both. And whenever you’re ready, I can’t wait for you to come back. We’ll have a welcome back party. I’ll bring those ciders you like. It’ll be… just like old times.”

“Okay,” she said. Her voice sounded wobbly. “I have to go now, okay?”

“Okay,” he said. “Goodbye, Claire. I’ll keep an eye on everyone for you. I promise.”

He slept fitfully that night, and in the morning, he headed straight for the barbershop.

Luke didn’t even look surprised to see him. He was doing busywork.

“Danny Rand,” he said. “Why am I not surprised?”

“I just can’t stay away,” Danny said. He grinned and went in for a hug. He was happy to see that whatever storm clouds were brewing over Luke’s expresion lightened when he came in. “So, Bushmaster. That was rough.”

“Yeah, not what I wanted from all that.”

“The real Danny Rand, huh?” The guy standing at the t shirt counter came up and gave Danny a high five. “I thought Luke was joking when he said he knew you.”

“No, it’s for real. And we’re going to find Bushmaster,” he said to Luke. “You haven’t heard anything from him since that night?”

“Not a peep,” Luke said. “Oh yeah, and sorry about any damages to your building.”

“It’s no big deal. Ward says it’ll only push off the opening an extra month. Once the police clear it as a crime scene, the damage was pretty minimal. We could have come out worse.”

“But Bushmaster did get away,” Luke said with a scowl.

Danny eyed him up and down and sighed. “You’re gonna hate this, man, but your chi is getting muddy again.”

“Oh for the love of-”

“Just bear with me,” Danny interrupted. “You’re a lot better than you were, but you need to let go of this anger. It’s clouding your thinking. Meditate with me.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Danny, we don’t have time for that.”

“Remember the other morning when we had tea?” He raised his eyebrows pointedly. “Remember how quiet it was? How it made you feel?”

Luke sighed and released some of the tension in his shoulders. “Yes,” he said grudgingly.

“Let’s try to recreate that now. Just silence, stillness, and peace. It’ll help us think.”

They settled into the barber chairs. The guy from the counter was giving them a weird look, but he put that out of his mind. 

“Is silence doesn't work,” he added. “I have Enya.” He wiggled his phone for emphasis. 

Luke grimaced and shook his head. Danny grinned at him and they closed their eyes. The barbershop fell into silence. Slowly, slowly, he felt his muscles relaxing and sinking into the barber chair.

They stayed like that for a while.

The guy from the counter came back with a rattling handful of clotheshangers. He was quiet for a second, then asked, “Y’all’s meditation working?”

Neither of them answered for a second.

“Sometimes in silence we can find the best ways to communicate,” Danny finally said.

“Yeah, you should speak less, D.W., you might learn something,” Luke added.

“But for real,” D.W. said. “What do you think? Why hasn’t Bushmaster come back yet?”

They were silent. A thought occurred to Danny.

“Bushmaster’s not like you,” he said to Luke.

Luke cracked an eye open and peered at him.

“When you’re hit, you don’t bleed,” Danny explained. “I mean, I’ve even hit you with this bad boy -” he held up his Fist for emphasis - “And it didn’t even break the skin. Your cellular regeneration and whatever.”

“Yeah,” Luke said. I heal incredibly quickly. My skin hardens, strengthens my muscles. Something like that.”

“But when you hit him, he bled. So he escaped using an explosion, right?”

“Yeah, snuck a Hammer weapon into the back of a paddywagon. Blew himself up.”

“And if he can bleed just from getting punched by you…”

“Then he’s injured,” Luke finished.

“Know of any off-the-books doctors he would go to?”

“Actually, I do.” Luke stood up. “Let’s go.”

Danny grinned and followed him. They hit the streets. Danny let the sun and the sounds and the smells of restaurants and street vendors wash over him. It was a beautiful day.

“That was good,” Luke said abruptly. “The meditation or whatever.”

“Yeah?” Danny kept his voice neutral.

“Yeah. I feel… calmer. More focused.”

“So you’ll admit me hanging round isn’t a bad idea?” Danny grinned.

Luke looked serious. He shook his head. “I don’t… I don’t know how to say this, Danny, but I feel like maybe you saved me.”

He shot him an inquisitive look.

Luke sighed. “Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Claire.”

Danny tripped over his shoe. He righted himself and pasted on a neutral expression. “Yeah?”

Luke sighed more heavily. “Yeah. A few weeks ago… I was out of my head, Danny. I wouldn’t normally… How do I say this?”

“Take your time,” Danny urged.

“I - sweet Christmas, this is hard to talk about. I never saw my dad hit my mom,” he said abruptly. He wouldn’t look at Danny. “I haven’t asked him if he ever did. I don’t know how I would… But he was mean. He was the meanest, toughest old bastard, and I heard them yelling when they thought I was asleep. They tried to be discreet, because of my dad’s reputation, but it wasn’t the happiest household. I never understood how a man could be so mean and angry until recently.”

He looked around the streets. His eyes seemed glazed like he hardly saw them.

“The pressure is immense. I feel like it’s this weight on my chest, all the time. Everyone wants something from me, everyone expects me to fix all their problems. And then I’ve got Mariah running me in circles like a rat in a maze and it seems like no matter how many fires I put out, there’s always another springing up. I can’t do it all. I tried. I tried to do it alone, and it cost me… It cost me Claire.”

Danny felt a lump in his throat. He swallowed it down and nodded. Luke looked more broken than he’d ever seen him.

“If she were smart, she’d stay away,” he said. “I’m turning into my damn father. It’s… It’s the opposite of what I wanted. I wanted to be a better man than that.”

“But your father changed, didn’t he?” Danny’s voice was small.

Luke sighed again, long and low. “Yeah… I guess he did.”

“You’ve got to promise me something, Luke,” Danny said urgently. He stopped and grabbed Luke’s hands in his own earnestly, ignoring his noises of surprise and the stares of passersby. “Promise me that if you ever feel like that again, you ever feel yourself going back down that path, you will call us. Call me. We’re your friends, Luke, and more than that, we’re probably the only people in the world who get it.” He blinked and was surprised there were tears there. He ignored them. “We know how hard it is to do this alone. We _need each other_ , Luke. If I didn’t have you guys, I would… I would…”

Luke put a hand on his shoulder and he quieted. He smirked uncomfortably. “Hey, keep it together, man.”

“You’ve got to promise me, Luke,” he insisted. “If not me, then Jess, or Matt, or Misty. Somebody. You’re not alone. You don’t have to do any of this alone. We’re - we’re your family, Luke. We love you.”

Luke nodded again and glanced around at the people watching them. “I promise, okay? I promise I won’t let it get bad like that again. Happy?”

Danny nodded and let him go. They fell back into step.

“They much freer with their feelings in Shiao Liao or wherever?”

“K’un-Lun,” Danny corrected. “And no... “ He wasn’t sure how to talk about it. “I’m not supposed to have feelings.”

He could feel the weight of Luke’s gaze, but he didn’t meet it. 

“No offense, but you’re not very good at not having feelings.”

Danny swallowed heavily. “Um, yeah, well, I’m kind of a failure. On multiple counts. I’m supposed to be a weapon, and I was never meant to leave K’un-Lun.”

He stayed silent after that. Luke finally spoke up.

“I don’t think you’re a failure.” 

“Thanks,” Danny said hollowly.

“No, really. No bullshit. You’re probably my best friend, weird as that is to say.” Luke frowned almost to himself. “Actually, that’s… you really are my best friend, Danny. I think you’re great, just the way you are.”

Danny felt himself tear up again. He scrubbed at his eyes and gave Luke a smile. “Thanks, man.”

“Okay, no hugs. For real. Next thing you know, we’ll be watching rom-coms and braiding each other’s hair. We’re here, anyway.”

“Here” was a battered shop filled with broken glass and herbs. It reminded him of the apothecary back in K’un-Lun, and he said as much.

“Well, whatever it reminds you of,” Luke said. “Something bad happened here. Doesn't this look like a scrap of the clothes he was wearing?”

Danny nodded dutifully. “So why this shop in particular?”

“It belongs to Mariah’s daughter, for one.”

“But doesn't he want to kill her?”

“Not while she's useful to him, no.” Luke kicked some spilled herbs on the floor and moved to shuffle through the notes on the counter. “She's a real doctor. MD and everything. And she sold him a particular herb that Tilda - Mariah's daughter - thinks he's using to enhance himself.”

“What kind of herb?”

“Nightshade. Some rare strain that grows in Jamaica.”

“So he's the herbal supplement Luke Cage?” Danny scoffed and moved to study the posters on the wall. A thought occurred to him.

“Hey, back in K’un-Lun, the healers there defined the body in terms of balancing the three principles of function. Loong, mKhris-pa, and Bad-Kan. Circulation, heat, and cold.”

He glanced at Luke, who nodded for him to go on.

“The last one, Bad-Kan, it encompasses our physical structure and mental stability. If you manipulate it too much, you could lose your mind. Maybe… maybe that's what's happening with Bushmaster.”

Luke nodded thoughtfully and flipped through the notebook he was holding. “Here it is. Nightshade. It says it's highly toxic, and the more you take, the less effective it is.”

Danny nodded. “Bad-Kan. You need more, more frequently, and it's less effective.”

“Like heroin.” Luke smirked. “Chasing the dragon.”

Danny rolled his eyes and hummed thoughtfully. “So if we're right, he's going to need a source.”

“That could be a problem.” Luke scrutinized the notes. “This strain only grows in Jamaica.”

“But can it be grown here? Or, like, synthesized?”

“We need to ask Tilda.”

“Well, she's in the wind.”

Luke sighed heavily and pocketed the notebook. “I hate to say it, but there's one person who might know where she is. We need to pay Mariah a house call.”

That sounded exactly like something he did not want to do. Danny sighed as well and followed him out of the shop. 

“Why don't we ever need to track people with cell phones? Maybe like a car chase or something? It's always walking somewhere.”

“What, you tired?” Luke smirked at him. “Don't sweat it, Danny. With you by my side, I don't think anything will go wrong.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you may get away with the thrifty hobo look out there, but in these white collar crime circles? Everyone knows your face. No one wants to be the one who capped Danny Rand, the billionaire comeback kid.”

He punched Luke lightly on the arm. “Oh come on, man, are you really using me for insurance?”

“Just a little.” Luke's teeth were a white flash against his dark skin. Danny found he didn't mind walking in as bait if he was with Luke.  
“Come on, Danny, it’ll be fun.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY GUYS
> 
> I'm not sure what exactly happened, but life hit me like a freight train this month. Poor health, work has been crazy, my best friend had two different minor medical crises (she's okay!) and in general I just had no juice left for writing. Even the chapter I've coughed out here is pretty mediocre, but I've just lost all my mojo for this story. My original idea for this just wasn't working well, and I just want it to be over with. I'd much rather be writing the fourth in this series right now. Daredevil promo stuff has me feeling angst is in order.
> 
> Please be patient with me. Thanks again to everyone who reads my silly stories.

For once, it actually was fun.

“That,” Danny said around the chopsticks in his mouth. “Was _awesome_.”

Luke scoffed and made a show of frowning at him, but Danny grinned at the hint of pride playing around the edges of his features.

“No, really,” he said while reaching out again to snag another piece of pork. “When I hit your hand with my Fist and everything just went WHOOSH, that was just… That was amazing, man.”

“It was pretty cool,” Luke begrudged. He pulled the plate of shrimp closer to him and away from Danny’s wandering chopsticks. “More importantly, no more nightshade.”

“Yup.” he popped the “p” obnoxiously. “So what’s the next move?”

He glanced to Luke, whose face had fallen slightly. “Now we wait. Either Bushmaster dies of his injuries and we get Mariah on one charge or another, or he lives even without the nightshade, and we wait for him to strike again. He really hates Mariah. He’s not going to just let her win, and Mariah is a wild card. She won’t let what he’s done to her slide. If he’s still alive, there will be blood.”

“Hey,” Danny said softly. “It’s gonna be okay, Luke. We’ll figure it out.”

“Yeah…” Luke wrestled with something before he sighed heavily. “Danny, you have to promise me something.”

“What is it?”

Luke’s face was stone cold serious. “You have to promise me that if Bushmaster comes back, you let me handle it.”

Danny blinked twice and slowly set his chopsticks down on his plate. He folded his hands together and rested them on the table between them.

“Okay,” he said. “Why?”

Luke tilted his head up pridefully at the question. “It’s my fight. Before you say it, I appreciate everything you guys have done for me so far. I really do. You’ve been good friends. But this thing with Mariah and Bushmaster? That’s on me. It’s my turf. Let me and Misty handle it. If things get out of control, I _will_ call you, but until you get my call, just assume that I’ve got this, okay?”

Danny held his silence for a few seconds. Slowly, he unfolded his hands and picked up his chopsticks. 

“Okay, I promise,” he said.

He went back to fishing out the last pieces of pork from his dish. Luke’s silence stretched on until he eventually looked up and raised an eyebrow at him.

“What?”

Luke shook his head and laughed quietly. “Nothing. I was just expecting another grand speech about teamwork.”

“I’m all out of speeches,” he said with a casual shrug. “The others were right: you’re a man, you’ve got your pride. This is your fight. I respect that. I think I finally understand it. So I’ll do as you ask. I won’t butt in uninvited again. I’ll just be ready whenever you call.”

Luke stared at him for another minute before he coughed lightly.

“Well, thanks, Danny. I appreciate that.”

“No problem, man. Hey, are you going to eat that shrimp?”

Luke laughed and pulled his shrimp closer. “You’re the rich boy - order some more if you’re still hungry.”

“Good idea.” Danny grinned at him and waved over at Connie.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said to Luke as she made her way over. 

“I hope so,” Luke said quietly.

They didn’t talk about anything heavy for the rest of the night.

\---

Danny kept his nose out of Luke’s business after that. It was hard. He still cared. He wanted to help. Colleen must have caught his moping, because she got him dragged into her community service projects around her area of town. Matt and Jessica suddenly had all sorts of crimes to bust up. It was obvious distraction on their part, but Danny appreciated it.

He and Luke texted as often as Luke would reply back. He restrained himself from going back to Harlem when the news came out about Bushmaster's final attack on Harlem’s Paradise. He kept his mouth shut when Mariah went to jail.

Luke said he was okay. He was handling it.

Danny's phone rang at midday one Tuesday.

“Danny, I need your help.” It was Luke. He sounded strained.

“What is it?” Danny was on alert instantly, already moving to the closet of his apartment to find his vigilante clothes.

“It's -” he cut himself off with a curse -”Something's gone wrong. I don't know what happened. Maybe Mariah, probably, I don't know.”

“What is it?”

“It's chaos.” Luke sighed heavily through the phone. “Crime, gang warfare, robbing - all in broad daylight. It's too much for me and Misty to handle. We need backup.”

Danny clenched his free hand into a fist. “I'll get the others. I'll meet you at the barbershop.”

“Sounds good. And Danny… thank you.”

“You're welcome.”

He had Colleen and Jessica by his side within thirty minutes. Matt had to feign a stomach ailment and cancel some appointments before heading home to grab his kit. Eventually, all four of them showed up at Pop’s.

Luke looked haggard.

“Thanks for coming,” he said.

“I read on the news that it was getting bad up here,” Jessica said. She was the first to approach Luke and awkwardly put a hand on his shoulder. “You look like shit.”

Luke smirked at that. “Yeah, I feel like it, too. Thanks, Jessica.”

She nodded and stepped back. Colleen snorted. Matt nodded to all of them and pushed past them to find somewhere to change.

“So what exactly is going on?” Colleen asked. “What’s the plan?”

Luke sighed again. “Misty and I figure that - at best - Mariah going to jail and Harlem’s Paradise closing, that left a power vacuum. Other organized crime in the city, they’re trying to muscle in on the open turf.”

Jessica raised an eyebrow. “And at worst?”

“Worst case scenario, Mariah cut some kind of deal with the other players. Or she stirred them up somehow. She’s in jail, so she’s not talking.”

Matt stepped out of the back room with his suit mostly on to take one of the barber chairs. He leaned over to lace up his boots and spoke, “So, from what I’m hearing, it’s gang warfare and crimes of opportunity out there.”

“Exactly,” Luke said. “And some of it is easy to tell, like drive-bys and hits, but others, it may just be stupid kids looting places while the cops are running ragged trying to clean up and catch what they can.”

“Well, I already overheard at the DA’s office that they’re bringing in special aid to the Harlem PD right now,” Matt answered. He finished lacing his boots and tugged the rest of his zippers and buckles into place as he stood up. He always looked strange in the suit without the cowl. “I think the best thing we can do is be around to stop things as they happen and keep people detained until the cops can show up. Jess, did you bring them?”

Danny’s head swiveled around. He just noticed that Jessica was carrying a messenger bag, which wasn’t her usual style. Her smile was wicked. 

“I cleared out the hardware store,” she said. “Owner thought I was nuts.”

She unzipped the bag and started handing each of them bags of large zip ties. Danny took his with a frown.

“The plan,” Matt said. “Should be to stop who you can, and tie them up with the zip ties. It should hold them long enough for the police to get to the scene and bus them back to the precinct. It’s not perfect, but it’s more efficient and safer than our usual style of beating people until they can’t move anymore.”

Luke had a growing smile. “And since some of the people we’re catching are dumb kids…”

Matt smiled in Luke’s direction. “I don’t want to put a kid in the hospital.”

“Thanks, Matt. And Jessica.” Luke’s smile was starting to look slightly watery. “Thank all of you. I… I couldn’t do this alone.”

Danny stepped forward and dragged him into a hug. “We’re a team, man. It’s what we do.”

“Now who wants to save Harlem?” Colleen asked. She’d followed Danny’s lead and gotten some kind of sports scarf to cover her lower face.

Danny looked around. Matt was securing his cowl. Jessica slouched and looked bored, but Danny knew her well enough now to tell that she was tensed and ready. Colleen reached out and squeezed his hand. Luke squared his shoulders.

“Let’s save Harlem,” he said.

They left the shop together. It was strange, all of them out in the daylight. People stopped to stare. They ignored the looks, gave each other a nod, and split up.

It was chaos.

Halfway through the day, Danny stopped to lean against a shopfront and just rest for a moment. In the past hour, he’d stopped three robberies,totaled a car filled with would-be drive-by shooters with his Fist, and stopped some dumb kids from joy-riding a man’s hot dog cart. The last one had wiped the rest of his energy.

“Hey, kid,” the hot dog vendor said. 

Danny looked up tiredly. The man looked him up and down and shrugged.

“Get over here,” he said. Danny obediently came closer. The man started prepping a couple of dogs. “You’re a funny-looking kid, and I’ve heard people talking about more of you types running around today. I’m not into the superhero stuff like that, but you did good today, kid. Have a couple of dogs on me.”

“I can pay,” Danny said weakly, but his stomach growled and his hands were already reaching for the food.

The man waved him off and shoved the hot dogs into his hands. “Don’t sweat it. You did me a big favor when you stopped those kids from messing up my cart. And I saw how you talked them down, got them seeing sense. You coulda just let the cops take them in, but you gave them a chance. Least I can do is give you some food.”

“Thank you, sir,” Danny said. He pulled his scarf down to wolf the first dog down in three bites. “I’m friends with Luke Cage. He… He really loves this town. He believes in the people here. I saw how young those kids were, and I just knew… I knew Luke wouldn’t want them to have their lives messed up for doing something stupid. He’d give them a chance.”

The vendor nodded thoughtfully and handed Danny a third dog with a bemused expression. Danny was in the middle of shoving the second one down his throat. “Luke Cage is good people. He does his best. We folks here in Harlem, we’re glad you guys are fighting the good fight. Taking care of the people. It’s more than the cops ever did.”

“They’re trying, too,” Danny mumbled around his food. He swallowed heavily. “There’s good people at the precinct, too. Good cops.”

The man waved his hand dismissively. “I’ll believe that when I see it, kid.”

Danny finished the third hot dog and shook the man’s hand. “Thank you again, sir. Your kindness was appreciated.”

“Anytime, kid. But next time, you’re paying for the dogs, okay?”

Danny laughed and pulled his scarf back up. “Of course. I’ve got to go, now.”

“Before you go, kid, what do they call you?”

Danny smirked. “I’m the Immortal Iron Fist.”

The man blinked at him and stared for a moment before he shrugged. “Mouthful, but who am I to complain? Immortal or not, you can sure put down some dogs.”

Danny laughed and jogged away. He wondered how the others were doing. He checked the Harlem’s Hero app. Luke was last tagged on the other side of town, stopping a looting at an electronics store. He called Colleen. She picked up after a few rings.

“What?” she said shortly.

“Everything okay?” Danny frowned.

“Oh, yeah,” she said. “I’m just… I’m really tired, Danny. Everybody’s lost their goddamn minds.”

“I know,” he said. “Want to meet back up? Where are you?”

She rattled off some street numbers. She was close. Danny started jogging that way. He found her slumped on the ground next to a building.

“I have been beating people up for hours,” she said when she saw him.

“Me, too,” he said. He crouched on the ground next to her and looked her over. She had a black eye forming, but she didn’t seem otherwise hurt. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said. “I’m just tired. I don’t want to complain, but I don’t have magical chi or super-strength, or super-Catholicism. I can only take so much.”

“I know,” he said. He gently tugged her up. “I think it’s time for you to tap out.”

“I want to help,” she said stubbornly.

“You’re no good if you’re exhausted.”

She didn't argue, just sighed and collected her sword to her. Danny pulled out his phone and tried Matt. No answer. He called Jessica.

“I'm taking Colleen back home,” he told her.

“Good idea,” Jessica said. She sounded as casual as ever. “I think we're finally getting things slowed down here. Matt’s calling in Frank right now. We're gonna stay out and make sure nothing horrible happens when the sun sets.”

“Do you guys need anything?” 

“We're okay, I think.”

“I'll get Colleen safe and then I'll be back,” Danny decided. “If you guys need anything, call me.”

“Will do,” Jessica said. She hung up without any other preamble.

They took a bus, of all things. Danny found them some free seats, and Colleen leaned her head on his shoulder as the bus rumbled along in the general direction of her dojo. 

“That was crazy,” she said quietly.

“Yeah,” he said. “I’ve never seen a part of the city just… go crazy like that.”

“I think there’s definitely more to it than just a power vacuum. I mean, I wasn’t into this kind of thing when Matt first started out, but I remember the explosions with the Russian gang, and when he got Fisk locked up.” She sighed and leaned a little further into him to speak even more quietly. “It was all over the news. Yeah, there was a power vacuum, and I’ve heard that the other gangs kind of got stirred up from that right before Frank started…”

“Being Frank?”

“Something like that.” She chewed on the inside of her cheek. “It wasn’t like this, though. It just wasn’t. There’s definitely something else going on here.”

“Mariah?”

“Probably. I mean, who else has that much influence over the criminals in Harlem, and has a motive to want Luke pulled in all different directions?”

Danny frowned. “You’re probably right. I trust your judgment. We didn’t have organized criminal activity in K’un-Lun.”

Colleen smiled. “Yeah, and you also ate donkeys up in K’un-Lun.”

“Hey, do not look down on eating donkeys. Donkey is good food.”

“You think nearly everything is good food.”

“Because it is!”

They settled down again as the bus rumbled on. Colleen had nodded off by the time they got to a stop near her dojo. Danny jostled her awake and they walked a few streets over until they got to her place.

“Are you staying?” 

Danny hesitated. It would be nice to curl up in bed with her and get some sleep, but he shook his head.

“I’m going back out,” he said. “Just to see if everyone’s okay. I want to check on Luke.”

Colleen nodded and leaned in to kiss him softly.

“Please be safe,” she said. “I worry about you. You’re not bulletproof, you know?”

“I know,” he said. He kissed her again. “I promise, I’ll be okay.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Danny Rand.”

He gave her one last smile and grabbed a duffle from the closet. She watched him go as he paced out of the dojo to hit the streets again.

First thing, he called a pizza place. Second, he called Jessica and told her to get everyone together because he was bringing food. Then he went to a bodega and loaded his duffle with waters, sports drinks, and canned coffees. Then he caught a cab to the pizza place. Finally, he carted his load to the barber shop, where Jessica had assured them they were meeting.

Sure enough, the gang was all there when he arrived. Luke was stretched out on one of the barber’s chairs, looking exhausted. Jessica was cross-legged in the other, phone in hand. Danny raised an eyebrow at Matt, who was sitting on the floor side-by-side with Frank. Frank was cleaning a gun, seemingly unaware of the fact that Matt was slumping closer and closer to full-on resting his head on him. It was hard to tell if he was falling asleep or not with the Devil helmet on. He was pretty sure Jessica was taking pictures, though.

“Hey, kid,” Frank said without looking up from the pistol in his hand.

Matt jolted up. He really must have been falling asleep. Jessica snickered from her chair.

“I brought pizza and drinks,” Danny said, flourishing his offerings.

“You’re a saint,” Luke said. He didn’t even let Danny set the boxes down before he reached out to wave him closer so he could pop the top one open and shove a slice into his mouth.

Jessica got up and helped him spread the pies across the counter D.W. used to sell t-shirts. She dug around in the duffle and tossed a couple bottles of water to Matt and Frank, then she cracked open a can of coffee and started guzzling it without preamble.

“Is anyone hurt?” Danny asked.

“Cuts and bruises,” Matt said dismissively. He cracked the seal on his bottle and started gulping down water like a dying man.

“We’re mostly just exhausted by now,” Jessica said. She’d picked through and found a pizza that suited her. She took the box with her to the chair. “Who knew opportunistic criminal idiots would be so tenacious?”

“Colleen thinks there’s something fishy going on,” Danny said.

“Where is Colleen, anyway?” Matt asked. He pulled his helmet off, and his hair stayed matted to his head with dried sweat. “She okay?”

“Just tired,” he answered. 

“Me, too,” Jessica grumbled.

Matt scooted closer to her and took the slice of pizza she offered him. Frank hauled himself upright and grabbed some himself. They made an odd tableau, spread throughout the old barbershop in their crime-fighting gear, hoarking down pizza and water as fast as they could.

“I need to see Mariah,” Luke spoke up. He looked even more exhausted than Colleen had. “Colleen’s right. This shouldn’t be happening like this.”

“Will they let you in?”

“I’ll make it happen,” Luke said. He winked at Danny.

Matt frowned. “Do you think she’ll talk to you?”

“Hopefully. Even if it’s just to gloat.” Luke sighed and rubbed his head. “I’ve got a confession to make, guys. I’ve been talking to Mariah’s old flame. Shades.”

“You’ve been talking to a guy who calls himself ‘Shades?’” Danny didn’t have to look to see Jessica’s eyes rolling.

“Explains the expensive cologne smell that's still hovering around,” Matt said around a mouthful of pizza.

“What does this Shades guy say?” Frank asked.

“He wants me to take over as the new crimelord of Harlem.”

There was a beat of silence. Jessica snorted.

“You? Kingpin of Harlem? You’re joking, right?”

“I mean, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, right?”

“You seriously think turning into the king of the scumbags is gonna stop the chaos out there?” Frank’s scoff was audible. “Nah, man. Scumbags don’t just fall in line and stop being scumbags. You either take them out, or you turn into a scumbag yourself. There’s no way you take over and get to keep being ‘Hero of Harlem.’”

“I know that, but…”

“Luke,” Matt said seriously. “You’ve worked too hard to take Mariah down using the justice system just to turn around and become her. The evidence is too compelling. She’s going away for a long time. Whatever’s going on in Harlem is temporary. We’ll get to the bottom of it, and we’ll stop it. It’s what we do.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

“We’re a team,” Danny cut in. “Harlem is part of Manhattan, and we're the Defenders. We won't stop until we've helped you resolve this.”

Luke looked around the old, faded barbershop at his team. It was a ragtag team, but they were all there for him. Even Frank had drummed up a small smile. Jessica gave him a thumbs up. Luke's face broke into a smile.

“Alright, guys,” he said. “Let's do this. Shades gave me some names, some players who are making moves into Harlem. Let's pay them a visit?”

“We’re with you, Luke,” Matt said.

“Yay Defenders,” Jessica deadpanned.

“Let’s finish this bullshit,” growled Frank.

Luke looked over at Danny. Danny beamed and offered his fist out. Luke met it with his own.

“Let’s go save Harlem,” Danny said.


	9. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We end where we always seem to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who stuck around for this offshoot adventure in my Matt/Jess universe. Thanks again for all of the lovely comments I've received. I've grown to really love Luke and Danny over the course of writing this. I hope you've all enjoyed this as well.
> 
> Stay tuned for a new Matt/Jess installment coming in the future as our team of heroes take steps towards securing their legacy and protecting each other from old enemies.

“It’s not a bad idea,” Danny said. “But I just don’t think yellow is the color to go with. I’m thinking more… calming green. Like a sagey color.”

Luke threw his paint chips down onto the table.

“Green? Nobody wants to hang out in a green community center.”

“Well, I would.”

They both turned to look around the inside of Harlem’s Paradise.

“We should just burn this place to the ground,” Luke said.

“That’s not what you said last night.”

“That was before we had to pick out paint colors.”

Danny laughed and clapped him on the back. “It’s not so bad, Luke. Just remember what we’re doing here. How many kids this is going to help.”

Luke groaned and walked away to flop on one of the chairs that remained. The inside of the club was gutted. You could barely tell it had been the hub of organized crime in Harlem only a few short weeks ago. 

Harlem itself had bounced back like it always did. Since the Defenders had tamped down the violence in the streets and helped Luke make a statement to the leaders of the mafias that were moving on Harlem, the gangs had been quiet. Danny knew better than to think it was over, but the temporary cease-fire was still refreshing. He and Luke had turned their attention to Harlem's Paradise - gifted to Luke in Mariah's will. 

“It just feels a little strange to try to turn this place around,” Luke said. “A whole lot of bad shit went down inside these walls.”

“We could still demolish it,” Danny said lightly. “Or you could check out these blueprints I brought.”

That perked Luke up. He dragged himself out of his chair to look over Danny's shoulder at the papers he was spreading across a table.

“We're keeping the kitchen mostly the same,” Danny said, pointing to that spot on the blueprint. “So we can still do your idea of hot dinners for cheap in the afternoon. We can probably get some local chefs to come in, give some cooking classes.”

Luke grinned. “Forget chefs - I know plenty of grandmas who’d love to teach the youth how to cook.”

“Maybe they could even teach me.” They shared a grin. “And there's the recreation spaces and the classroom, if we wanted to host lessons here.”

Luke leaned in to look closer. “Wow, it's really coming together, isn't it?”

“The Henry Hunter Center for Youth? Yeah, it's happening, man.”

“Pop would be proud,” Luke said quietly. He pointed to the folder Danny had clutched in his hand. “What's that?”

Danny’s mouth went dry. He fidgeted with the folder. Now or never.

“Well, it's just a thought, but for the upstairs space, I was thinking… well, Jessica is helping me get a PI license… Just, um, look at these mock-ups.”

He shoved some papers from his folder into Luke's hands. He squirmed as he watched the larger man's eyebrows rise up as he looked them over.

“Heroes for Hire?”

He licked his lips and went for it. “It's just an idea, but, well, I think we do a lot of good here. And I don't want to stop helping Colleen with her stuff or Matt with his Daredeviling, but I just think that you and I… we could help people.”

Luke's face was unreadable. His fingers traced lightly over the sketch of the sign.

“You don't have to,” Danny stammered. “We can do something else with the office. It was just an idea-”

“You really want to do this?”

Danny paused. He nodded.

Luke’s stern face slowly melted into a small smile. He clapped Danny on the shoulder, hard enough to nearly knock him over.

“Danny, man, this is… this would be great.”

“You mean it?”

“Yeah, man…” Luke shook his head and laughed. “Let's do it.”

“For real?”

“For real. Heroes for Hire. I like it.”

Danny's cheeks hurt from grinning. He looked up at the sound of the front door pushing open and felt his mouth go slack.

“Claire?”

All of the air rushed out of the room.

She looked good. Tanned and healthy. Beautiful in a way that lots of rest and time away only amplified - her dark circles were gone, and even her pinched expression couldn't cover that her face had filled out a bit from the wan and hollowed stress he'd last seen on her.

The gravitational pull of Claire's body led him to glance at the source. Luke seemed frozen in time - a man staring at his deepest desire through a pane of glass. His mouth was caught somewhere between a smile and slack surprise. When he did breathe - finally - it shuddered into him and hitched like a sob. Danny turned his eyes away to gift Claire a smile.

“I didn't know you were back in town,” he said.

Claire seemed to pull her eyes away from Luke with difficulty. She gave Danny a thin smile.

“I just got back today. Um, Colleen filled me in on everything. She, uh, tried to call you.”

“Oh, shoot.” Danny pulled his phone out. Dead. He sighed. “Sorry, Claire. I was distracted.”

“I see.” She glanced around the gutted club before her eyes flicked back to Luke.

The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. Danny decided to give himself an out.

“You guys probably want to talk,” he said. They both jolted and turned to him. He swallowed and let out a strained laugh. “The office hasn't been demo-ed yet, if you want to talk there. I've gotta, uh,” he looked around the room for an excuse. “I've gotta finish, uh, cataloguing the glassware.”

Luke cleared his throat. “Um, yeah. Thanks, Danny.”

Claire nodded absently and headed for the stairs. Luke followed her. Danny was left standing in the middle of the demolition zone.

His curiosity was killing him. As much as he respected his friends’ privacy, he'd still love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. The best he could do was straighten up the mess of blueprints and stick around just in case everything blew up again. He hoped, prayed, wished that everything would go back to normal. He desperately wished he was still naive enough to believe in things like that.

The silence dragged on for a long time. His phone was dead, so he couldn't mark it for sure, but it felt like hours. Maybe it was mere minutes. He could just see the top of Claire's head through the window from the angle he was standing. He perked up when Luke came into view. They seemed to be hugging. He looked away.

The door to the office finally opened. Danny was by the stairs and hovering by the time Claire came down with deliberate steps.

“Everything okay?” He asked.

There were tear marks on her face, but she seemed calm. She let her face fall into a genuine smile and beckoned him in for a hug.

“It's… it's okay, Danny,” she said into his shoulder. He pulled back to look at her. Her eyes were sad. “Or I think it will be? Eventually?”

“Are you and Luke…?”

“We're working on it,” she said. She inhaled deeply and nodded jerkily. “Yes. Working on it. Together. I'm not making any promises, but we're getting help. Outside help. Luke agreed to see a therapist.”

“Like Matt does?” Danny couldn't conceal his surprise.

“Same office, actually,” Claire said with a small huff of a laugh. “Yay for former SHIELD psychologists and Foggy's extensive legal footwork. He's agreed to start seeing someone. I have one of my own, now.”

“So you're working on it?”

“Yeah. There's other stuff, too, but that's… private.”

“Of course,” he said. “Are you going back to your mom's?”

Claire shook her head. “There's still tenants there, and it's about time I got my own place again.”

Danny frowned. “Where are you staying tonight? Do you need a place?”

She shook her head. “I'm crashing at Matt's tonight. He's letting me stay until I find a job.”

Danny couldn't temper his excitement. “Well, actually…”

Claire’s eyes widened. “What? Don't tell me you've got another of your crazy plans.”

He grinned. “I may have insisted to Ward about funding a low-income clinic in Hell’s Kitchen. It's almost ready, but I only have one nurse practitioner on my staff so far. I could use an experienced RN…”

Claire groaned and punched his arm. “Danny!”

“What?”

“You can't just dump stuff like this on people!” She sighed and laughed. She seemed resigned. “I'll think about it, okay? No promises.”

“Okay,” he said. “But I do need one promise.”

Her face sobered. “What?”

“You need to promise you'll come to the welcome back party I'm definitely throwing tonight.”

Claire scoffed and punched his arm again. “Why wouldn't I show up? You bring the ciders, I'll get Matt's roof ready.”

Danny grinned and hugged her again. He didn't let go for a bit. They both just stood there. He breathed in the smell of her coconut shampoo and her clean clothes.

“We missed you, Claire,” he said. “It's so good that you came back.”

“I missed you, too,” she said. Her voice was choked. “All of you. It's good to be back.”

He squeezed her one last time and let her go. They both pretended they weren't wiping some tears from their eyes.

“I'm going to go back to Matt's now,” Claire said.

“I'll get everyone ready,” he promised. “I'll see you tonight.”

He watched her leave. Then he made his way up the stairs to the office.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting to find - but Luke calmly sitting on the couch turning a business card between his fingers - wasn't it.

“Luke? You okay, man?”

He looked like he’d been crying, too. He didn't glance up.

“She's giving me a second chance,” he said quietly.

“I heard,” Danny said cautiously. He sat down beside him. “You alright?”

“I'm just in shock,” Luke said. He kept staring at the card. “I thought she was going to yell at me or tell me she never wanted to see me again. Instead…”

He trailed off. Danny cautiously put a hand on his shoulder.

“We're going to couple's therapy,” Luke said. He laughed quietly. “Couple's therapy. Can you believe it?”

Danny didn't know what to say.

“She wants some space,” he continued. “She doesn't want me to move in.”

“Are you… okay with that?”

“I think so.” Luke laughed again. It sounded self-deprecating. “Matt and Jess are doing great, and they sometimes don't see each other for days. And I think she's right. I think we need to work on ourselves. On healing. There's a lot… A lot I haven't dealt with. And her, too. She gets night terrors sometimes. I think we're both pretty messed up.”

“I think it will be good for you,” Danny offered. “I think this is good. I believe you'll work out.”

“Thanks, Danny. That actually means a lot.”

Danny leaned in to give Luke a hard squeeze. It seemed to do the trick. A lot of the tension melted out of his shoulders.

“C’mon,” Danny said. “Let's finish up here and get ready. We're having a party tonight.”

Luke’s grin was a welcome flash of white teeth against his somber face. “That sounds good.”

He'd missed this, Danny realized later as he leaned against the roof wall with Colleen in one arm and a cider in the other. Colleen’s hair, where it brushed his arm, smelled like lilies, and both the alcohol and the love he felt made his insides feel warm.

Luke had gotten a grill somewhere, and the smell of hamburgers and smoke permeated the air. As Danny watched, Misty threw an arm around Claire in a loose hug. Whatever she said had Claire and Foggy breaking into peals of laughter. When he glanced to the side, he found Frank and Malcolm quietly having a beer together. Karen, Trish, and Jessica were having some kind of argument. Matt derailed it by coming up and kissing the frown lines off of Jessica's forehead. That group broke into laughter as well.

“The family’s all together again, huh?” Colleen snuggled in closer to his side.

Danny felt a lump in his throat. He swallowed it down.

“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, it is.”

“Come on,” she said while tugging him with her. “Let's stop hiding in the corner.”

He let her pull him into the group. Matt gave his shoulder a friendly tap as he walked past. Colleen let go of his hand to go give Claire a hug. Danny kept walking until he joined Luke at the grill.

“Burgers look good, man,” he said.

Luke grinned at him. Someone had given him a “kiss the cook” apron.

“I used to man the grill for barbecues we'd have at my old precinct back in Georgia,” Luke said. “I missed it.” 

“Well, looks like you're good at it. I should get a grill.” Danny let his voice trail off.

“Hold your horses, man. I'll have to teach you how to really use one of these.”

“I look forward to the lesson.”

Luke rolled his eyes.

“But for real, man,” Danny said. “Are you good?”

They both looked at their small crowd. Claire was in the center of the group. Everyone was happy and smiling. The string lights gave everything a soft glow. Misty caught their eye and gave them a thumbs up with her new arm. Harlem was safe, and the whole evening had an energy. It felt like a new beginning.

“Yeah,” Luke said. “I'm good.”


End file.
